A Warm Winter Break
by GuiltyPleasure3
Summary: Winter break finally started after a grueling semester at U.A.! Everyone's excited to spend the Holidays with their family and that included Izuku Midoriya...unfortunately though he won't be spending the break with his family but with another family...more specifically, the Bakugous.
1. Chapter 1

_It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming...on days like this kids should be riding their bikes, or playing baseball, or anything really. But, of course, none of those things would be done today for a certain pair because.._

"_Oh my god, will you quit crying already!" a tiny blonde huffed irritably. _

_His friend has been crouched with his arms around his knees under the shade of a tall tree for the past twenty minutes now. It was a wonder how the blonde didn't lose the small amount of patience he has earlier._

"_But-but Ka-kachaan..how-w..can I..be be a-a hero without….?" a particularly loud sniffle broke off the end of the sentence. _

_Deku had just come home from a doctor's visit and has been moping since. Kacchan wanted to beat the doctor senseless cause the guy was obviously a villain to make his deku so upset. _

_Kacchan eventually sighed and took a seat next to the crying boy. He put one arm around the others shoulder in an attempt to provide comfort. _

"_That doctor doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, how can an extra toe or whatever determine whether you have a quirk or not?"_

"_I don't have an extra toe-"_

"_You'll get your quirk in no time, how can we be partners otherwise? Oh! Wouldn't it be so cool if ur quirk was ice?! Imagine that-King Mighty Explodo Murder Master and Deku! The polar opposite wonder duo strikes again! And then my side of the poster will be scorched with flames and yours is frosty like-"_

_The green haired boy tuned out the excited blondes chatter in favor of watching his animated face instead. His feelings of sorrow were replaced with a burst of admiration for the other boy and he suddenly felt a lot older than the tender age of 5. _

_When the blonde faced Deku again he no longer had chubby cheeks or a wide, confident smile. Instead he had sharp features and wore a cocky smirk. _

"_Izuku."_

_The deep voice saying his name in a way he's never heard before-the name he never heard in __**that**_ _voice before-made Midoriya's heart hammer wildly in his chest._

"_Wake up."_

"Izuku honey! Wake up!"

The aforementioned shot his eyes open to a plain white ceiling. The teen blinked twice in confusion.

_Ah, it was just a dream. _Izuku thought wistfully.

After another moment, he sat up slowly and began to rub his groggy eyes in efforts of gaining more consciousness. There was a grating buzzing in his ears that sounded an awful lot like

**WAKE UP MY BOY! WHY? BECAUSE THE DAY IS HE-**click.

The fanboy somewhat regrets pestering his mentor into making him a personalized alarm. It seemed like a good idea at the time and after hearing All Mights ringtone, young Midoriya was determined to have a similar keepsake.

However, in retrospect starting the day off with All Might yelling at a volume louder than that of Present Mic might not have been so smart…

"Izuku, are you up?" Inko shouted from down the hall. Noises of drawers opening and zippers closing could also be heard amongst the woman's hurried padded footsteps.

_Spring cleaning? No, that can't be, it's winter. _Izuku looked towards the window as if to double check he had his seasons correct and sure enough the glass was frosted with nothing but white to be seen outdoors.

"Yeah I'm up now! What're you doing mom?" Izuku shouted loud enough for his mother to hear.

The green haired woman came into the room and tossed a bag at her son. She began rummaging through the confused teenager's drawers as well now as she hurriedly explained

"I just got a call from your aunt this morning, the one that lives in America." Inko said as she pulled out various articles of clothing. "She got in a car crash."

"Oh my god, is she-"

"She's fine, she's alive thankfully, but her hips are dislocated. She'll need to stay at the hospital for a while. And since she has two little kids at home;" Inko tossed a heap of clothes on Izuku's bed "I need to watch over them for a while." Inko smiled apologetically at her son.

Izuku nodded understandingly. "Am I going too?" Izuku asked as he packed the clothes into the bag in his lap. Izuku wondered how his mother got enough money for the both of them to go.

Inko's smile turned a bit sadder. "Unfortunately, since it was on such short notice I could only get one plane ticket. That and I can't quite afford another…"

"It's okay mom." Izuku figured as much. But then why is he packing too?

As if reading his mind Inko informed him "Don't worry, you won't be alone this winter break. Mitsuki graciously offered to let you stay at her home! Isn't that great?"

Izuku froze. Inko didn't notice and continued talking.

"I was so worried leaving you, with all these new villains coming from nowhere...but now you'll have Katsuki protecting you! And Mitsuki too, honestly her rage is enough to ward off most villains!" Inko laughed, still oblivious to Izuku's paled complexion.

_Spending winter break...in Kacchan's house..? _The thought both terrified and delighted him, although the fear outweighed the joy since Kacchan would most likely NOT be happy with this situation.

"Mom, I don't think that's really necessary.." Midoriya started hesitantly. "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself now, I improved my quirk a lot and-" Inko turned to her son.

"Izuku, please..just stay with them…" she pleaded. Tears threatened to fall from her vermillion eyes.

Young Midoriya sighed and continued packing his bag. A smiling poster of All Might approves this decision with two thumbs up.

* * *

"Aww bro, you're leaving already?"

"I said I'd tutor you, not play shitty video games with you."

"Come onnnnnn, it's break! One match won't hurt." the redhead leaned over his bed and wiggled the controller alluringly in front of the boy sitting on the floor. Katsuki smacked the offending object away.

"I'd rather be doing something useful with my time, you should be honored I even came over shit for brains."

"Is shit your favorite word?"

Katsuki wordlessly stuck one finger in the air as he stuffed textbooks back in his bag. Kirishima took no notice of this and simply flipped around on his bed so that he was lying on his back.

"Or maybe it's Deku? You sure love screaming his name after all." Kirishima put both hands behind his head as he pretended to be deep in thought.

That earned him a punch to the face.

* * *

The blonde huffed angrily as he walked home in the bitter cold. That fucking idiot just had to remind him that _Deku _exists. Katsuki hasn't seen Deku since the break started so that's been what, a week now? And it looks like he won't be seeing the mess of curls, tears and freckles anytime soon. Probably not until school starts back up again.

_A whole month away…_

Which is a good thing!

Whenever he thought of the others face, he just couldn't concentrate on anything. Whether it be studying, enhancing his quirk, or cooking-something always manages to get burnt because fucking Deku just pops into his head randomly, like he has any right to be there!

However, this past week, Katsuki had successfully _**not**_ been thinking about Deku and has been a _**thousand **_times more productive for it...up until now. In fact, the blonde just realized he walked past his house.

_FUCK._

The blonde turned around and trudged grumpily back in the direction he came from. The wind blew against him, making his hood fly backwards and freezing his ears instantly. He took one hand out of his pocket to bring the hood forward again but unfortunately forgot his gloves at Kirishima's...

_GRRR, FUCKING HAIR FOR BRAINS! FUCK HIM!_

Katsuki was still fuming by the time he reached the door.

_AND FUCK THAT FRECKLED FACE, DOE EYED LITTLE…!_

Katsuki slammed open the door and was greeted with the sight of his mother, sitting across from Deku, a cup of tea held in each of their hands.

"….."

"Oh hey, welcome home brat."

"..."

"...Umm.."

It almost seemed like _ZA WARUDO_ had occurred with the amount of seconds that passed without another word being said.

Izuku fidgeted before finally raising a shaky hand up in the form of a greeting.

"H-hey Kacchan.."

Said boy promptly exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors notes: Hey guys, thank you for following and favoriting me! It means a lot since this is my first fic and I honestly didn't expect people following me right away ^^.**

**Anyways, about updates, they may be irregular. Like I might update quickly a few times but then take a while other times, I'll try my best to do at least one update a month tho. Ty again! Luv u guys**

"THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE'S STAYING WITH US!?"

"Jesus, how many times do I have to explain it to you to get it through your thick skull?"

"Where the fuck is he gonna sleep!? We don't have a goddamn spare room!" Katsuki gestured a hand wildly in Izuku's direction as if he was a stray dog they found on the street.

Or maybe more like a puppy since Izuku cast his eyes downwards immediately and picked a loose thread on the hem of his shirt, much like a child being scolded. If you look close enough you can see a small pout on his face.

"Well, in your bed, or course." Mitsuki threw an arm around the back of the couch languidly.

Katsuki stiffened while Izuku turned bright red.

Mitsuki smirked. "Don't get too excited now, Katsuki, you're sleeping on the floor, _obviously._"

Katsuki closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He then counted to ten before speaking again. "Hag. Tell me. In what world does it make sense that DEKU gets MY BED?"

"Umm, actually…" The cinnamon roll interrupted before another Bakugou argument could begin. "I bought my own futon, I really don't mind the floor Mrs. Bakugou, honestly."

Mitsuki looked considerably at Izuku for a while. A few minutes passed, although it felt like hours to Izuku.

_Her gaze is just as intense as Kacchans…._

Mitsuki suddenly clapped her hands on her knees, which made Izuku jump a little but it seems that she's made up her mind.

"Alright, I guess it can't be helped since it seems like you have old Inko's stubbornness and my demon of a child would probably throw you off the bed anyway."

_I'm the stubborn one here?_

"Yeah, I know, I'm a real son of a _bitch_, aren't I ma?"

Izuku quietly sipped his tea while another battle ensued in the background.

* * *

All was silent in Bakugou's room. No explosions or outbursts, just

_silence._

Izuku sat in the corner of the room, on top of his small futon, reading.

Or at least, trying to.

He could feel Katsuki's murderous stare from behind the cover of his heroes weekly magazine issue #364. It was quite distracting. After Izuku finished not reading, he set down the comic and decided to address the angry elephant in the room.

"Kacchan," Midoriya began, " I know you're not thrilled but please, just try to ignore me? I promise you won't even notice I'm here, I'll stay in this corner the entire time and I won't make a single sound so…"

The green haired boy took a steadying breath before gathering enough courage to make eye contact, and he was surprised to find that the blonde didn't look nearly as mad as he thought the teen would be. He looked almost, peaceful? In an angry way.

_But why?_

Katsuki just clicked his tongue and murmured gruffly under his breath "How can I not notice you…"

For some reason, that made his heart thump. Izuku broke off eye contact in favor of staring at the wall. He felt mortified at the gathering heat in his cheeks.

_Urghhh, stop it. He didn't mean it like that, get ahold of yourself…._

Katsuki stood abruptly and headed towards the door "I'm gonna grab a protein shake. You want one?"

Izuku gawked at him.

"I'm trying to be civil asshole, now answer before you catch flies in your mouth."

"..uhh..ok, yeah. Thanks!"

* * *

Katsuki walked down the stairs feeling oddly calm.

"_Probably cause Deku's here" _Kirishima's voice taunted him. _Shut the fuck up. _

Bakugou's serene mood slightly dissolved.

_Why am I even hearing that dumbass in my head? I need to stop tutoring him so much. _

Katsuki reached the fridge and opened the handle.

_Honestly though, Deku staying here…..might not be so bad. _

The blonde grabbed two drinks, closed the fridge and headed back upstairs.

While the two weren't exactly friends, they've slowly been drifting closer together after resolving some misunderstandings at their second major fight. It was a gradual, minute shift in their dynamic that one could hardly spot the difference. The change was very clear to one Katsuki Bakugou after a week apart though.

_Should I go back for some dango?_ he contemplated halfway there. _Aw, screw it, I fucking earned it. _Katsuki only has sweets once a month as part of his strict diet regime.

As Katsuki headed to the refrigerator once more, his thoughts drifted to Deku again.

_Deku...I can't really say I dislike him. Yet at the same time, I don't know him well enough anymore to be able to call him a "friend". I lost that right a lonnng time ago…_ Katsuki thought bitterly.

The refrigerator opened.

_Maybe I can regain that right again..._

The last of the dango was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Mitsuki Bakugou was enjoying a rather lovely erotica novel this evening. She bit her lip with anticipation as she was about to turn the page.

_Oh Mr. Grey, what will you do next? _

When suddenly she heard her banshee of a son screaming

"YOU GOT SOME NERVE!" followed by explosions.

"EEP! KAACHAN I DIDN'T KNOW OK! I'M SORRY, I'LL BUY YOU MORE TOMOR-AHH!"

The floor rumbled slightly under the pressure of another explosion. Now the sound of gushing water accompanied the noises downstairs.

"OH MY GOD KACCHAN, YOU HIT A PIPE!"

"NO SHIT SHERLOCK."

Mitsuki's veins popped.

"YOU HIT WHAT!?"

* * *

Both boys looked at each other when they heard Mitsuki's scream. Looking around the living room, the place was covered in soot with a broken lamp, a torn up couch, skid marks on the floor and walls due to Izuku's quirk enhanced running and of course a hole in the wall that had water currently soaking everything. Mitsuki was gonna kill them.

A moment later thunderous stomping could be heard coming their way.

"Shit."

In a split second Katsuki grabbed the other boy and threw him in the closet. He then opened the front door before getting in the closet as well and shutting it.

"What're you-" Izuku couldn't finish his sentence as Katsuki covered his mouth with one hand. He put his head against the door and listened intently.

Mitsuki seems to have come downstairs and was silent. She was probably shocked at how much damage they caused. The boys then heard a ferocious growl and loud footsteps stomping away. The front door slammed shut.

The blonde let out a sigh and let go of Midoriya as the green haired boy realized what happened.

"Ohh, she thinks we left the house cause the front door was open." Izuku said, in awe of the others quick thinking.

Katsuki smirked. "Yup, you think she'll believe it wasn't us and the house just got robbed or whatever?"

"Highly doubt it."

"Can't blame me for trying." Katsuki shrugged, Izuku smiled. This whole situation could be blamed on Kacchan, even if Izuku was the one who ate his snack.

Izuku then started to giggle because it just felt so nostalgic, hiding in the closet to escape Mitsuki's wrath. Katsuki felt it too but he bit his bottom lip to keep himself from smiling.

"Tch, stop laughing like a moron. Let's get out of here."

"Sure Kacchan." Izuku said, still giggling slightly.

The giggling boy put one hand on the knob and tried turning it. It wouldn't budge.

"...Kacchan, did you make sure the door was unlocked when you pushed us in here?"

"...Fuck."

**KACCHAN'S CURSE COUNT OF THE DAY: 11! What do you guys think? More or less cursing? More or less dialogue? Anything I should change up? Plz leave your thoughts in the reviews ty X3**

**Edit: There was a concern about this fic being romantic, I don't know if everyone is aware but this IS a romance fic. It's in the tags. If you don't approve then this is unfortunately not the fic for you.**


	3. Chapter 3

_The first well known person in the United States to have a quirk would have to be...was it Michael Jordan? What was his quirk again, super speed? High jumps?_

Izuku laid on his futon, pondering over history homework as he awaited for Kacchan to return from his punishment. Izuku had gotten in trouble too but his sentence wasn't as severe, considering he wasn't the one who almost tore the house apart.

"_Sorry hun but no dessert for you tonight." Mitsuki had said, hands on her hips, smiling apologetically. Meanwhile in the background Katsuki was drenched from head to toe as he was forced to repair the god forsaken pipe. It didn't seem like he was having much luck._

A pout formed on Izuku's face from the memory. The daifuku looked so good at the dinner table too…just a few inches from his reach yet so beyond his grasp.

Midoriya stretched his body and changed positions so that he was now sitting upright. _Okay, question 11. In what year was the first quirk discovered? Hmm..._

Right then the fiery blonde, who ate _two_ daifukus that night, arrived through the door. His hair was slightly damp, but his clothes were dry. It appears as though he's just taken a shower.

"That took a while." Midoriya brilliantly observed.

"Yeah? Well, I'm a hero not a goddamn construction worker." Katsuki said as he flopped his ass down on the bed, making the mattress bounce slightly under the weight.

"Are you doing your homework right now?" Katsuki scoffed, laying his arms above his pillow, before resting his head atop.

"Yuppp." Izuku replied, popping the p at the end.

"Nerd."

"Didn't you finish yours the first day of break, Kacchan?"

Katsuki didn't dignify that with a response 'cause he refused to be a liar nor a hypocrite. He simply got up and sat next to the green haired boy. The blonde leaned over Izuku's shoulders and squinted to read the paper in the others lap. Izuku's heart rate began to pick up.

_So close..._Izuku thought, doing his best not to squirm when the others arm brushed against his own.

Katsuki's eyes darted from left to right, skimming over the answers. "Number 3 is wrong. The first quirk was found in Qingqing, not Hong Kong." he corrected, taking the pencil from Izuku and starting to erase the circle around Hong Kong.

Izuku nodded, vaguely paying attention. _When was the last time Kacchan was this close to me, nonviolently? _He wondered.

"5 is also wrong." Katsuki said, rubbing an eraser back and forth against the sheet.

"Oh." was all Izuku could reply at the moment, too focused on trying not to be distracted by the surprisingly nice scent wafting from the teen next to him. Smells like burning cedar, the punctilious boy noted.

"So is 8, 9 and 10. Jesus, Deku I thought you were smart." Katsuki teased lightly as he turned to face Izuku.

Midoriya is suddenly all too conscious of the comment directed at him and the face in front of his, which made him abruptly whip his head around to face the wall for the second time that day.

However, while he couldn't see Katsuki anymore, he could tell the other was staring at him as if he's grown three heads.

_Smooth. Very discreet. This is how a normal person acts. _Midoriya thought sarcastically, berating himself for creating this awkward situation with his jerky movements.

"...Hey." Izuku felt Kacchan shift in his seat.

"You feeling okay?" The teen asked, trying to get a better look at Izuku's reddened face. The flustered boy hid further.

"Y-Yeah..I-I'm fine. Just f-feeling a bit tired, I g-guess." Izuku stammered out.

Bakugou studied the nervous boy curiously for a minute and eventually came to the conclusion that _Deku's just being a Deku _and moved away, much to Izuku's relief.

The blonde shrugged. "I dunno why you're so tired but I'm fucking _exhausted, _so I won't question it." Katsuki said, the _for now _part unspoken but clear. He got up, shut off the lights and settled into his own bed.

"Sleep." Bakugou commanded, voice low and muffled. _He _was _actually _tired unlike the liar sitting atop of the messy futon.

Izuku blinked, eyes slowly getting adjusted to the dark. After his vision was well enough, he began cleaning up the spread of papers and textbooks. He moved them to the side, next to the backpack that contained all his stuff. Bakugou had refused to share any of his drawers.

Now that the area was clean, Izuku assaulted the pillow with his face and clenched the soft material tightly in his palms. He was tempted to scream into the fabric but refrained from doing so 'cause Kacchan would _definitely_ murder him for that.

_I really need to get over him… _Izuku internally groaned.

Ever since they were kids, Izuku had had this _stupid _crush on none other than the infamous Katsuki Bakugou. Why? Because he's _Kacchan. _He's smart, strong, brave, confident, talented, Izuku could go on forever.

Even when the arrogant boy bullied him, Izuku couldn't stop liking him. It was like the emotion was ingrained in him! No matter how many times he was ignored, made fun of or beaten up...he couldn't get rid of the butterflies he felt whenever he saw Kacchan win with the odds stacked against him, or when he inadvertently motivated his peers with a cocky speech or when he let a small smile grace his lips when he thought no one was looking…

Yeah, Izuku was smittened, _is _smittened, possibly in love. Maybe? No, let's not go that far. Point is, even though the fire wielder had a horrible personality in their middle school years, Izuku still liked him. A lot. He only felt sad that he couldn't stand by Kacchan's side back then.

But he could now. Their relationship is slowly but surely getting stronger with each passing day and with it grew Midoriya's infatuation.

_And it needs to_ _**stop**__. _

Katsuki might be more tolerant of Izuku now, but that doesn't mean he'd ever return his feelings. Maybe in his dreams, but this was reality, and the fact was that if Kacchan found out, their friendship would be over before it even began.

Izuku looked up longingly towards his crush. From this angle, he could only see the shape of the bedpost and a bit of Katsuki's toe, peeping over the edge. The moonlight from the window illuminated the room and cast a shadow on certain objects sticking out in the dark. In the quiet, Izuku could hear soft whirring sounds from the heater and the sleeping boy's gentle breathing occupy the silence of the night. The atmosphere was nice. Comfy.

Izuku's eyes drooped slightly and then completely as he let out a yawn.

_It's okay. _He thought hazily.

_At least, I can stand by his side again._

And with that last thought in mind, Izuku was lulled into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next day, young Midoriya was awakened by the bright morning sun. Izuku shielded his eyes with an arm and slung the covers over his head but to no avail, he could still see orange through his closed eyelids. Deciding it was futile, the boy got up. He was about to whine to the other male in the vicinity

_Whyyyyy doesn't your room have blinders?_?

but was not able to do so as he found Katsuki's bed was empty.

_...Typical. _

It was almost ten in the morning. Kacchan's never been one to sleep in.

Izuku was obviously not a morning person as he dragged his feet across the hall, to the bathroom. He grabbed a toothbrush and began brushing his teeth as he ambled his way to the first floor. After Midoriya finished gargling in the duplicate bathroom downstairs, he came out and was immediately hit with a delicious aroma.

It was coming from the kitchen and so there he went.

Fully expecting his blonde roomate to be in there, Izuku was somewhat knocked off balance when he met a face he hasn't seen in a while.

"Oh Izuku! Good morning, how're you doing? It's so nice to see you after all this time!" Katsuki's dad, Masaru, beamed.

"Ah! Good morning Mr. Bakugou sir! I'm doing fine." Izuku bowed awkwardly, unsure of how he should act with someone he hasn't seen since his diaper days.

Masaru laughed as he flipped what looked like blueberry pancakes onto their uncooked sides.

"No need to be so formal, you can call me Masaru, or dad if you'd like." Masaru smiled genuinely.

Izuku's heart swelled at the sentiment because Masaru was the closest thing he had to a father in his childhood. While he didn't quite feel comfortable calling the man 'dad', the offer was still kind and highly appreciated.

"Thank you.." Izuku began, feeling a bit more at ease, "Do you happen to know where Kacchan is? I haven't seen him so I thought he would be here."

"Ah, he went to get us eggs for breakfast, we ran out completely. Actually, I'm sorry to ask you this, but" Masaru set the golden pancakes down on a plate.

"If it's not a bother, would you mind going to the grocery store as well to fetch some milk? I forgot to tell Katsuki, and he hasn't picked up any of my phone calls! He must've left it at home." Masaru explained. "Oh! But you're more than welcome to eat first! My goodness, I'm so rude. Come, have a seat." Masaru pulled a chair out.

"Aha, it's alright." Izuku assured the man. "I can get the milk now, it's no problem." Midoriya said, partly because he didn't know what he could possibly talk about alone with Kacchan's dad during breakfast.

"Ah, thank you Izuku." Masuru smiled again.

_He's still such a sweet kid._ The man thought.

"Be safe out there!"

Izuku nodded. "I'll be back in ten minutes!" the green haired boy promised as he stepped out the Bakugou residence.

* * *

_Brrrrr~ _

Izuku's teeth chattered.

The weather's sunny disguise has succeeded in tricking Midoriya, not for the first time in his life either.

It was freezing. And _so bright. _The worst possible combination, especially in knee high deep snow.

_Just a few more streets and I can be indoors. _Izuku reminded himself.

However, that wouldn't be the case anymore as a frightened scream rang out amidst the crowd.

Midoriya tensed and swifty turned, listening to where the sound came from. More faraway screams could be heard as Izuku caught a glimpse of a flying mass of goop in the distance.

Adrenaline and dread filled Izuku's veins; he ran as fast as his legs could take him to the scene.

"_AHHHHH, SAVE ME! PLEASE SOMEONE, ANYONE! HELP!" _A women hysterically cried, one leg covered by a thick, slimy substance. She desperately fought against the goop pulling her forward to the point where it seemed like her leg would break.

"_DELAWARE SMASH!" _A fist slammed into the muk, scattering it into pieces.

Izuku took the lady in his arms and moved her to a safe place.

"Are you okay?" He asked, briefly assessing her injuries. It seemed like she had a sprained ankle, but was otherwise fine.

"Yes, yes, thanks to you." She nodded vigorously, voice choked from the traumatic experience.

Izuku looked back towards the slimeball and examined it. It looked very similar to the slime monster that attacked Kacchan almost a year and a half ago. The only difference was this one was pink in color instead of green, and it was seemingly attacking no one in particular, but anyone who got nearby.

With that in mind, Izuku charged at the mass, ready to burst the thing with a roundhouse kick. Before Izuku's foot could make contact, the slime rearranged itself to make a hole in it's center, where Midoriya flew through.

He skidded to a stop against the gravel roughly. The slimeball took this opportunity to launch at Izuku.

_Shit! _

The slime covered both his legs and right arm. This pink monster is much faster and stronger than the green one was. Midoriya struggled in its hold.

**BOOOOM!**

An explosion caused the entire being to combust, making medium sized chunks of slime fly in every which direction. The police scrambled to collect the pink fragments and keep them contained.

Midoriya coughed from the smoke invading his lungs. After the smog cleared, he could see paramedics have arrived in the area, a carton of eggs were smeared against the pavement and Kacchan stood in front of him with his back turned.

Izuku smiled and got on his feet in order to thank the blonde.

But he was on the ground again before he knew it. His left cheek stung painfully.

"THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Bakugou screamed at the boy on the ground. His face contorted in rage, Katsuki was absolutely livid.

Midoriya held a hand up to his throbbing cheek and replied "What the _hell _are you _talking about?_" Izuku got up once more and hardened his stance in case the pissed off boy pushed him down again.

"You fucking charged the thing!? No plan, no tact, you just fucking fly in like you're Batman or some shit and expect things to magically work out? Who the hell do you think you are?" Katsuki spat out. The wailing of sirens drowned out some of Bakugou's words but Izuku could hear him loud and clear.

"Um, I think I'm a hero in training." Izuku said back, eyes locking determinedly with blazing red. Firemen got out of the truck and hosed away bits of metal that were steaming from the aftermath.

In the old days, Izuku would've just apologized to appease the angry boy. However, Katsuki had no right to yell at him now, or _hit him._

"More like a corpse in training. Stop doing dumb shit Deku."

"Kacchan, I'm not a quirkless kid rushing into fights anymore."

"That doesn't mean you're fuckin' superman!"

"You did the _exact same thing _as me! The slime just happened to be weak against fire!"

"_**I**_ can do it 'cause I'm _**me**_. You're _**Deku**_. Don't fucking forget that."

Izuku just stood there, mouth wide open in disbelief. After all this time, Kacchan _still _didn't see them as equals. He turned around and walked away.

"Where do you think you're going!?" The furious blonde shouted, walking after him.

"Home." Izuku spat out.

The blonde rolled his eyes at the attitude.

Izuku walked at a fast and steady pace. He didn't look back, not even once.

* * *

"By home, you meant your own home?" Katsuki asked, arms crossed in front of his chest, leaning against the doorframe, watching Deku pack his stuff.

"Yeah. Isn't this what you wanted?" Izuku said in a huff. He's glad he left most of his items in the backpack. The sooner he got out of this _arrogant asshole's _presence, the better.

"I thought your mom wanted you to stay here 'cause you couldn't take care of yourself." Katsuki taunted.

Izuku lost his temper at that moment. He marched up to Bakugou until they were nose to nose, eye to eye.

"I _passed _the hero exam. I have a license. I'm _certified _to save lives, I can certainly take care of myself." Midoriya shot back, uncharacteristically full of venom. He then pushed past the stunned boy and stomped down the stairs.

"WELL GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE!" Izuku heard the blonde shout as he reached the door.

"THIS IS FUCKING _GREAT _FOR ME! I DON'T HAVE TO PLAY AS YOUR FUCKING BABYSITTER ANYMORE, HOPE YOU DON'T DIE ALL BY YOURSE-"

Izuku didn't hear the rest as he slammed the door behind him.

**...For some reason I thought Katsuki's dads name was Matsuda at first. Good thing I looked it up! And then I realized Matsuda's that dummy from death note :P ****Welp, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next one will prob take a while with school starting again DX **

**Ya know, it's kinda funny how I'm writing this on my summer break. Well, not funny, ironic? Idk but I'll still be working on this when winter comes sososo that'll be fun and fitting :D Ok I'll stop typing to myself now byeeee**


	4. Chapter 4

The temperature has dropped drastically from mere moments ago. The air was chilly and uninviting to those who decided to meander outdoors; which wasn't as many now as civilians rushed about in the streets, searching for shelter.

Izuku stood with his hands in his pockets on the porch outside of his house.

He sighed as he reached under the mat to get the spare key. The fact that his mother thought this was a good hiding place was mind-blowing, and also extremely dangerous as anyone can walk right in. Izuku had been wanting to discuss this matter with Inko for a while, but kept on forgetting. He'll definitely remember to talk to her when she gets home.

For now though, he'll gladly use this poorly hidden key.

The green haired boy walked indoors and took off his snow-covered boots. He tossed his belongings on the couch and headed upstairs. Once he was alone in his room with his All Might memorabilia, Izuku collapsed.

His body trembled as an ugly sob threatened to escape from him; Izuku wrapped his arms around his frame in order to contain the bubbling emotions within him.

_Goddamn it, Kacchan. _He thought as he tightened his hold. _Right when I thought we were becoming friends... _

Just yesterday it seemed like that was the case.

"_Welp, since we're stuck in this closet we might as well do something."_

"_Like what?" _

Izuku recalled Kacchan smiling mischievously before attacking him. He really should have known what was coming.

"_Serves you right for eating my dango you little shit!" The blonde pinned the other on the floor._

"_Kaachaaan! AHh-HA-HA! STOP! MERCY!" _

The tactical attack had evolved into more of tickling torture than an actual fight. Izuku's lips twitched upwards for a second as his vision blurred.

"_3 is wrong. First quirk was found in Qingqing, not Hong Kong." Kacchan's arm brushed against his as he took the pencil and began erasing._

A single tear brimmed over the edge and rolled down Izuku's cheek. His hand immediately came up to wipe it away.

"_Hey...you feeling okay?" _

A shudder wracked his body as he remembered Kacchan's tone then. It had sounded like he actually _cared_. Izuku couldn't have been more wrong.

_He doesn't care about me. He doesn't even like me for christ's sake. The only reason he's been semi-nice to me was 'cause we were forced into being roommates…_

An involuntary whimper left Midoriya's lips.

_Kacchan hates me, always has, always will…_

Tears fell steadily from his chin as he buried his head in his knees.

He was such an idiot.

* * *

Masaru paced the hall outside of Katsuki's room, wondering how to approach his son.

He's never been very good with these situations, it always ends with lots of yelling and breaking as Masaru goes unheard.

_I need some caffeine...but the boys didn't bring any milk home, drats. _Masaru isn't fond of black coffee.

"Dear, why're you pacing?"

Masaru jumped, he didn't realize his wife was back.

"Thank GOD you're home!" Masaru hugged her. "Katsuki and Izuku got into a fight-"

"AGAIN?"

"No, no, with words, an argument-well, a few punches might've been thrown, I'm not sure-but! Izuku went home and Katsuki won't come out of his room and-"

Mitsuki grabbed her husband's head and kissed him.

"I've heard enough." She said after. "I'll handle it."

Masaru nodded.

* * *

Katsuki laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, however, all he could see was Izuku. The freckled face has been plaguing his mind once again. His smiling face, his sleeping drooling face, his mad face.

Images of Deku being slammed against the pavement by the slime monster suddenly flashed through his head.

_Fucking dumbass...thinks he's invincible just 'cause he got All Might's quirk, can't even use it properly._

The door opened and Mitsuki walked in.

"Wha-the door was locked! How did you-" Katsuki sat up as a key was thrown in his face. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

"Quiet. What'd you do to Izuku-kun?" She sat on the teen's bed and crossed her legs.

Katsuki rubbed his forehead, the spot where the small sharp object hit, and looked off to the side.

"Why do you always assume I did something? Deku threw a bitchfit and left, end of story."

"Mhmm, and what'd you say to provoke him?"

"NOTHING!"

Mitsuki raised one eyebrow, or at least tried to pull off the sassy look; her left eye strained to stay down making her look more unhinged rather than all knowing.

_What is she doing with her eyes, my god, hag thinks she's in a tv show or some shit._

Bakugou's mother suddenly grabbed him by the hair and pushed him down. Before Katsuki could rip her hand off, Mitsuki spoke.

"Katsuki. I promised Inko that Izuku would be safe in my home and I intend to keep my promise, so _for once_, put your unearned pride aside and _apologize._"

With that said, the blonde female let go of the spiky hair and strutted away.

"Have him home by eight, _or else._" Mitsuki threatened before going completely out of sight.

Katsuki would rather not deal with whatever punishment she could contrive so he got up to put his coat and shoes on and retrive the nerd.

* * *

_Huh, I guess they changed their hiding spot. _Katsuki thought as he placed the corner of the doormat back down. He had to figure out another way in now.

Bakugou grinned maniacally as an idea came to mind.

He held an arm straight up at the door and felt blood course hotly through his veins as an explosion built its way up through his palms. Sweat and nitroglycerin gathered to its capacity until….

…a small puff of smoke came out in the below freezing weather.

….

Katsuki took a few steps back and looked around the front of the house. When he couldn't find any openings, he jumped over the fence and walked around the side of the building.

A moment later he spotted a half open window on the second floor. If he remembers correctly, that would be Deku's room.

Annnnd conveniently enough, there was a tree nearby that had a branch that stretched out just the right amount to reach the open window...The branch seems a bit frail towards the ends but otherwise; it looked sturdy enough to be walked on.

Perfect for an intruder to intrude.

_Deku's such an idiot. _

* * *

Izuku had fallen asleep against the door; worn out by his crying session, when he was awakened by a loud thud. The alarmed boy immediately sprang to his feet, bumping his desk in the process. He grabbed the closest object he could find to defend himself.

"Who's there?" Midoriya questioned guardedly, pencil in hand.

"Annie." A deep voice answered.

Izuku was thrown off guard. He grew more confused and frightened as his muddled mind conjured up the idea that Toga somehow got in his room and shape shifted into an invisible boy named Annie.

"Annie who?" Izuku asked, fully on guard now.

"Annie way you CAN GIVE ME A HAND BEFORE I KILL YOU?!"

"Huh-Kacchan!?"

The pencil dropped and rolled away as Izuku spun his head every which way, fear completely evaporated by now. He finally located his childhood friend, struggling to hold himself up by the window sill.

"KACCHAN!" Izuku ran to the window and grabbed hold of the others arms. The green haired boy then put one foot on the wall below and kicked himself backwards, using the momentum to pull the heavier boy inside.

Katsuki toppled over the smaller boy, head landing in the crook of Izuku's neck. They stayed like that for a while.

"...Kacchan, can you move or…?"

The blonde just mumbled something about weak ass trees(?) and green being bad luck(?) before pushing himself up on his elbows.

"Next time keep your windows completely open, makes it much easier for people to kidnap you." Katsuki said sarcastically. The comment sounded quite condescending to Izuku.

Katsuki rolled over and got to his feet. "Let's go." He said, already making his way out.

Izuku sat up and gaped at the teen, astonished. "What makes you think I want to go _anywhere _with you?" Anger rekindled from earlier.

Katsuki turned back and gave Izuku a nasty look. "I scaled a goddamn tree and almost broke my neck to get to you. You're gonna go wherever I fucking tell you to go."

"That's not how it works, I don't _owe_ you anything." Izuku rolled his eyes. "You're more than welcome to leave though. You can use the front or the window, your choice."

Katsuki walked up to Izuku, reached down and lifted him up by his shirt so that Izuku was standing now as well.

"**What **is your **problem**? You pms-ing? That time of the month already?" Katsuki spat out.

Izuku hurled a punch at the blonde.

"_**That's **__exactly my problem." _his fists clenched by his sides. "You just won't stop _insulting_ me, I've had enough!"

The explosive boy jumped the other and punched him in the gut as they crashed on the carpet.

"_**GET OVER IT. **_YOU THINK I FORGOT ABOUT YOUR LITTLE COMMENT ABOUT HERO LICENSES, HUH? PEOPLE TALK SHIT ALL THE TIME, WAY OF LIFE. _MOVE ON."_

Izuku blocked another punch that was aimed at his face and flipped their positions.

"THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TALKING SHIT AND TREATING PEOPLE LIKE SHIT!" Izuku punched Bakugou by the jawline.

"Why do you still treat me like I'm a-a pebble on the sidewalk? I thought you finally respected me, thought of me as an equal. You said we were rivals!" Izuku shouted at the teen under him.

Izuku pounded weakly on the others chest, the lump in his throat preventing him from hitting harder.

"Yet this morning you-you acted as if I was-was an annoying damsel in distress. I'm a _hero. I'm finally a hero._"

Izuku choked up. "Why-hy do you still-"

_Why do you still hate me?_

Katsuki closed his eyes as tear droplets fell on his face from the boy above.

"Sorry." The green haired boy got off the blonde and sat criss-crossed, wiping away his tears.

Katsuki followed suit and sat across the crying boy. His heart strangely ached as he watched each teardrop moisten Izuku's freckles. He almost reached out to wipe away the rest but stopped himself in time.

_What the hell was that? _Katsuki thought as he looked at his hands. A sad sniffle interrupted his thoughts and was probably what caused him to say his next words.

"I was worried about you." The blonde admitted, voice unusually soft.

Izuku's hands froze in the middle of wiping his face.

He slowly lowered his limbs and looked at Katsuki with curious wide eyes. His pupils moved frantically, observing Katsuki for signs of false sincerity.

This went on for a while. Katsuki grew red from the attention and began to regret his words. But there was no taking it back now.

"I said those things to you 'cause- I didn't want you getting hurt." Katsuki felt oddly tongue tied. "I know you're strong but, I just-I don't know..." The blonde trailed off, feeling _very_ embarrassed.

_Fuccckkk why am I saying all this? _

The blonde chanced a look at the freckled boy when the silence got to be too much.

The green haired boy wore a bright smile, cheeks flushed from crying but no longer smeared with tears.

_That's why. _Kirishima answered in his head. Katsuki was too mesmerized at the moment to be bothered by the redhead's voice.

Izuku laughed softly. "Sorry, guess I overreacted."

"Yeah, no kidding." Katsuki held a hand to his cheek; he could feel a bruise forming.

"Sorry…"

"Stop apologizing. I'm the one who _should_ be saying sorry…" Katsuki rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"...My people skills aren't as amazing as my fighting skills, okay? Nobody's perfect."

Izuku laughed loudly at this.

Not as loud as Katsuki's heart.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days went by peacefully at the Bakugou household.

The wonder duo passed time by watching hero documentaries, reading books, working out; normal teenage activities.

One abnormal activity was the burning of trees around the house.

The fires were caused by powerful solar rays-or so Katsuki had said. The green haired boy was obviously unconvinced and just shook his head disapprovingly as the overprotective, paranoid teen defended himself,

"_There's still plenty of trees left in the Amazon rainforest-hey, at least raccoons can't get in the house now!"_

Raccoon clearly being a euphemism for criminals.

There was also another incident where Izuku had accidently dug a grave.

He was sparring with Katsuki in the front yard and had jumped in the air in order to gain speed for his next move. Bakugou had predicted he would do that and so the blonde rolled away before Midoriya's electrifying punch could land, and luckily so.

Seven feet of dirt, snow and slush exploded up in the air.

Katsuki sat a few inches away from the demolition, eyes wide and quite frightened when he asked,

"_WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE PAYBACK FOR THE TREES? I swear I was gonna replant the seeds away from the house in spring! You don't have to cripple me-" _

"_No no NO! Kacchan I'd never try to actually hurt you! I didn't think it was gonna be that strong a hit, honestly! I thought I was at 2%!" Izuku shouted, quite frightened as well, from inside the pit._

Needless to say, that quickly concluded their training session.

* * *

Mitsuki came home later that evening after a long day at work.

A huge crater of brown in the middle of her otherwise pristine white lawn caught her eyes as she parked her toyota in the driveway.

"_...Wonder who they're burying._" she thought briefly as she headed indoors and went straight to bed.

It truly was a peaceful era.

Until one unassuming evening….

* * *

"No."

"But Kacchaaan, whyyyyy?"

"I really have to explain this to you?"

"Yes."

"Deku, it's feral-"

"_He._ Look, there's his-"

"Whatever. Not keeping it, thing's gonna shit all over the place and give us rabies."

Izuku petted the small kitten in his lap, eliciting content purrs from the creature.

"I don't think he's feral Kacchan, he looks pretty clean." Izuku grinned toothily as the kitten let out a happy mew. "He probably got lost from home; there's no way he could've survived more than a few hours in this weather."

"Well if he has an owner we definitely can't keep him." Katsuki stated.

Izuku sighed. "Yeah, I know...but we can at least take care of him until we find his owner."

The blonde kitten rolled over, exposing his stomach. Izuku's heart _melted_ at this display of trust.

"Awww, look at him Kaaacchan, he's so adorable!" Izuku squealed as he petted the soft kitty belly.

Katsuki moved closer to the other boy on the bed and inspected the animal critically.

"Looks like a yellow rat."

The kitten stilled. He suddenly jumped up at Bakugou's face and scratched him.

An unusual amount of blood burst from the scratch and Izuku and Katsuki both stared wide eyed at the kitten that landed on Izuku's shoulder. He arched his back in a defensive pose and hissed at the bleeding teen.

A second later he was nuzzling Izuku's cheek.

After Bakugou recovered from the shock of the attack, he lunged after the creature.

"KACCHAN NO!" Izuku pressed against Bakugou's chest as the blonde attempted to reach the creature on his shoulder. Katsuki's prey leaped down and hid behind the small of Izuku's back; the small kitten didn't seem to realize he would be squashed in such an area should his predator push the boy down.

"THAT FUCKING RAT DESERVES WHAT'S COMING TO HIM!" Bakugou reached around Izuku's hips. Midoriya grabbed his wrist.

"Kacchan he's still young! Kat-chan doesn't know right from wrong yet!"

"That's a load of bullshit-_wait._" Katsuki stopped and glared at Izuku. "_What did you call him?_"

"...Ummm,"

"Did you seriously name that _fucker_ after _me_?" Katsuki growled out.

"...Yes, yes I did. He reminds me of you. Not in a bad way!" Izuku rushed out the last sentence before Bakugou could explode.

Katsuki stared at Izuku for a moment, then he sat back in his seat.

"How?" He questioned, crossing his arms.

"...Well, um," Izuku began "He's blonde for one," the green haired boy laughed nervously.

Katsuki was not amused.

Izuku quickly continued, "He's also strong-as we just saw- and he's smart, he knew you were saying something bad about him." Midoriya paused for a moment, unsure of how to properly describe their other similarities.

"Is that it? He's not that strong or smart, he'd be dead without someone looking after him." Bakugou scoffed, annoyed at being compared to such a weak thing.

Izuku looked pensively at the other for a moment and then spoke, "...He didn't like me at first ether Kacchan."

Midoriya held out his hand for Bakugou to see. It was covered in deep scratches, similar in color to the scars he got from using his quirk excessively.

For some reason, this made Katsuki's blood boil.

"He didn't trust me-and rightfully so, he didn't know my motives...but, he realized I was only trying to help when I put him in my coat pocket." Izuku chuckled at the memory of how the kitten had instantly stopped struggling. "I guess he felt warm." Izuku said fondly.

Katsuki's features softened at how familiar that sounded.

"Maybe, he'll warm up to you too soon enough, you just need to be patient." Izuku smiled gently as the tiny kitten came out from its hiding spot.

The kitten stared cautiously at the blonde as he slowly made his way to Izuku's lap. He kneaded Izuku's legs briefly before laying down with his tail curled around him. Kat-chan rubbed his head against Izuku's stomach.

"Awww, you're so cute Kat-chan." Izuku cooed.

"Cute? I'd say hot is a better adjective for me." Katsuki said casually.

"HUH-WHA-NO! I meant the cat, not-" Izuku's face turned beet red. He really regretted his name choice right now.

"I thought you were still listing similarities?" Katsuki pretended to be clueless. "So you think I'm smart, strong and cute? Deku, I'm flattered." He smirked teasingly.

"ThatsnotwhatImeantImeanyesyou'resmartandstrongandyou'renot_bad_lookingbutIdidn'tmeanthatyou'recuteImeantthecatwascutenotthatyou'renotcuteorhotwait!Imean-"

"Chill, I was joking." Katsuki interrupted the other before he could mumble himself into oblivion.

Was it wrong that he kinda liked seeing Deku so flustered?

Before Katsuki could find an answer to that question, he felt something wet.

He looked down at his lap just in time to see a small blonde kitten hop off and away. A terrible stench invaded his nostrils and before his brain could even process what the ever loving fuck just happened Izuku stood up.

"Kacchan, remember, he's just a cat. Animals do these things-" Midoriya said carefully as he slowly took a few steps back.

Katsuki's brain finally registered the smell.

_Urine._

Katsuki immediately tore his shirt off and threw the contaminated item out the window.

"I'M GONNA FUCKING BURN YOU ALIVE YOU SHITTY FUCKING CAT REJECT!" Bakugou screamed as he flung fireballs at the cat, however Kat-chan was an agile young kitty and dodged every one. Izuku's toe got singed before a single hair on Kat-chan's furry body could.

"Um, I'm gonna just-" Izuku jumped as another fireball almost hit his foot. "I'll go get your shirt-" Izuku pointed his thumbs towards the door as he backed away. He wasn't as fast or small as the kitten so his best option was to retreat during this Bakusplosion.

He finally made it out the room in one piece. He felt bad that he was the only one who could leave but,

_I'm sorry Kat-chan. You must learn that there are consequences for your actions._

And with that thought in mind Izuku headed outside to retrieve Kacchan's soiled shirt. Actually, he should probably find some gloves first.

* * *

He has to be hallucinating. The sight in front of him was just too weird to not be a fever dream.

There stood Izuku Midoriya in sheep printed pajamas, looking disgusted as he held up a yellow stained shirt in gloved hands-that can't be what he thinks it is, right-in front of _Bakugou's _house? Did he have the wrong address? Why was there a giant crater in the lawn?

"Kirishima? Hey!" Izuku waved happily, bringing the redhead out of his stupor.

"Oh hey, Midoriya!" Kirishima waved back, just a tad uncomfortable. "Sorry I can't stay and chat right now, I really need to find Bakugou. Any idea where his house is, he lives around here right?"

"He's upstairs."

"...then why are you….?" Kirishima wasn't sure how to end that sentence.

"...It's a long story. Anyway, what's wrong?" Izuku asked, noting his classmates anxious demeanor.

"Hm? Oh-! I came here 'cause I wanted Bakugou's help, I guess you could help me too, if you're not busy." Kirishima eyed the article of clothing in Midoriya's hand.

"Um, nope. Not busy at all." Izuku grimaced as he followed Kirishima's line of sight. "What's up?" He asked.

"I need help finding-" a loud rumble cut Kirishima off. Smoke drifted out from the second story window.

"Oh my god-KACCHAN!" Izuku sprinted up to the smoking room, Kirishima followed.

"Are you fucking insane!" Izuku yelled as he burst through the door. The air was thick with smoke, making it hard to see through the haze. When the room cleared out a bit, they found Katsuki on the floor, half conscious.

"...Pisser has a quirk." The defeated boy mumbled. Izuku was silent for a moment as he digested the words. Then it hit him.

"HE. HAS. A. QUIRK. ARE YOU SERIOUS, KAT-CHAN HAS A QUIRK!? THAT'S AMAZING!" Izuku literally bounced with excitement. "Oh my All Might, where's my hero journal? I need to record this, oh my god Kacchan he even has the same quirk as you?! Or maybe he absorbs other people's quirks, where is he anyway?"

Kat-chan appeared out of nowhere and toddled up to Midoriya.

"Meow!"

Kirishima gasped, "There you are Jr. Explosion Murder!"

"You're the owner?" overlapped with "Are you fucking kidding me-"

Kat-chan/Jr. Explosion Murder ignored everyone in the room and jumped into Midoriyas arms. He nuzzled against his chest affectionately.

"Wow, he really likes you Midoriya. Took him a whole day to even come near me."

"It's not hard to like someone as stupidly kind as Deku." Bakugou grunted as he got up. "When did you get a cat anyway?"

"Few days ago, I knew I just had to have him after he burnt my face when I tried holding him." Kirishima stroked the kitten in Midoriya's arms. The kitten coughed out ashes.

_I didn't know Kirishima was such a masochist… _Izuku thought to himself.

"And you had to name him after me too?"

"You saw his quirk bro."

"Ugh, whatever. Get that shit away from me already."

Kirishima took the reluctant kitten from Midoriya's hands. The blonde kitten mewed sadly but eventually accepted his fate and let himself be held by his owner.

"Thanks for taking care of him Midoriya. Before I go though, I have to ask," Kirishima said. "Why are you _here_?"

"Why the fuck can't he be here?" Katsuki growled.

Kirishima was taken aback from the blonde's sudden hostility. Then he realized Bakugou's lack of clothing and the fact that Izuku seemed to have slept over, judging from the futon and Midoriya's choice of clothes.

_Did they- _Kirishima's face bloomed in color as he seemingly connected the dots.

"Sorry man, you're right, that's none of my business." Kirishima averted his eyes and began to exit the room.

"Why are you always so hostile?" Midoriya tsked. "My mom didn't want me to stay home alone while she went to America so that's why. See, it's not that hard to communicate properly Kacchan."

"Too many words, waste of air and time." Katsuki grumbled. Izuku rolled his eyes.

"Whoa, so you guys basically get to have a sleepover everyday while she's gone? That sounds like a blast man!" Kirishima exclaimed, relieved he was wrong in his assumptions.

Izuku laughed weakly and scratched the back of his head. He wouldn't exactly say _that_. It was fun most times though.

"Hey, you guys should totally sleepover at my place this Saturday! My family's coming to visit for the Holidays and while I love them and all, they're kind of a handful to deal with." Kirishima sweatdropped.

"Half of them are little kids so I need someone my age to keep me sane. I've been meaning to ask you Bakugou and I wouldn't mind if you came over too Mido~! The more the merrier after all!" Kirishima smiled widely.

"Wait a sec, holidays? You celebrate Christmas?" Katsuki questioned. It was way too early to be celebrating New Years'.

"Yeah, I'm part Christian but by holidays I meant Hannakah. I'm one fourth Jewish~"

"That's so cool!" Izuku said at the same time Katsuki spoke "I always knew you were a mutt."

"Kacchan!" Izuku scolded, punching the teen on the shoulder. Katsuki winced, the area was still healing from the _demon cat's _scratches.

"Haha! It's okay, I know Bakugou loves me anyway~"

"Ew."

"Oh!"

Kirishima snapped his fingers as if he's figured out the secret of the universe.

"That's why Jr. doesn't like you!" He pointed at the blonde.

"You, Katsuki Bakugou," the redhead paused for dramatic effect.

"Are."

Both boys waited for the grand reveal.

"Spit it out already."

"A DOG PERSON!" Kirishima finally finished, referring to himself as the mutt Bakugou _obviously loves. _He was quite proud of his deduction.

Izuku gasped and clasped his hands together in joy, convinced that Kirishima hit the nail on the head. Katsuki was, however, far from impressed.

"What kinda hair brained logic-"

"Kacchan! Can we adopt a puppy?"

"Goddamn it Deku, we don't have enough space and my parents will never agree and wait-WHY ARE YOU ASKING _ME_?"

"I want a golden retriever, I heard they're the friendliest although I don't mind other breeds-"

"Don't ignore me you lil'-! '_Can we adopt a puppy-'_ Get your own damn dog! And quit believing every sentence shitty hair says-"

The aforementioned boy laughed at their banter. "It's been fun talking to you guys but I really should go now, it's getting late." Kirishima said as he glanced at his watch. The time was 7pm but the sun had already set since it was December.

"But I'll see you this weekend?" Kirishima asked again hopefully.

"Yes."

"No."

The redhead frowned but he expected as much. Bakugou never wants to just hang out without a purpose.

"Kacchan, c'mon. Kirishima's your friend and it'd be good to get out of the house once in awhile." Izuku reasoned.

"I'm not gonna spend a night or two at Kirishima's surrounded by _children_ and Christmas slash Hannakah related festive _crap_." Bakugou crossed his arms.

"Kacchan pleeeaseee?" The other pleaded, unconsciously making a puppy face. "It could be fun, celebrating with a bunch of people."

Izuku's always had his mother to celebrate New Years' and other holidays with but sometimes he felt as if he was missing something, or _someone_...with his mother away the emptiness felt even greater as he thought about the Holidays.

Katsuki was ready to tell the boy off but as soon as he looked at the other, the words got stuck in his throat. Deku's eyes were cast downwards and his mouth formed a sad pout. He looked like a kicked puppy.

The blonde facepalmed. He really couldn't take any more of this day.

"Fine, we'll go."

"Really?" Izuku shot his head up, surprised Kacchan actually agreed.

"Sure, why the fuck not?"

Kirishima couldn't help but smile as he watched his friend struggle to keep an angry demeanor as the green haired boy mumbled excitedly about how much fun they would have.

_He truly is a dog person._

"Great! Can't wait to see you guys again!" Kirishima said as he walked towards the door. "And thanks again for watching over Jr.! I'm sure he'll love to see ya again too, haha!"

"Bye Kirishima!" Izuku waved enthusiastically. "Text me the time we should arrive okay? We'll be there the minute you say so!"

"Or a few hours later-"

"I got you Midoriya!" Kirishima shouted as he descended down the stairs.

The redhead snuggled the now napping kitten further in his coat as he stepped into the outdoors. Snow drifted softly against the redhead's exposed face as he walked home beneath the stars.

Eijiro felt soft purrs vibrating against his chest. He smiled down at the precious creature in his arms and thought to himself,

_Maybe I should get him a friend from the shelter...I wonder if they have golden retrievers._

**Haiii, I obviously made up Kirishima being Christian/Jewish, and I don't know a thing about his family (anime watcher here) so I hope you guys aren't too distracted by the uncanonness of the coming chapters. **

**Well anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and are having a lovely day! Good bye now loves**

**Edit-9/21/19 Omg I found a stray kitten in my backyard! Sorry, that's just such a coincidence I had to tell you guys. It's a cute black n white kitten with an eye infection, I'm gonna try and take care of it until it's vet appointment (which is on the 23rd ugh drs. can't make it sooner) **


	6. Chapter 6

"What the fuck is taking so goddamn long!? Who leaves their _guests _out in motherfucking _Todoroki-ass _weather hah?!" Bakugou loudly complained as he rapped his knuckles violently against the wooden material.

"Something about that phrase just sounds plain wrong. Please say 'freezing' or 'cold' next time."

The angry dandelion and smol broccoli have been outside of Kirishima's front doorstep for what seemed like an eternity.

In reality it was five minutes.

Bakugou murmured curses under his breath while Midoriya used this time to take in his surroundings. The first thing Izuku noticed was Kirishima's house. It was _huge _and extravagantly decorated; as were most of the houses on...Golden Avenue?

_Of course they would name it that. _Izuku thought to himself as he eyed the literal yellow brick road. The golden street was filled with cars-most likely all owned by Kirishima's visiting family members.

_Kirishima sure has a lot of relatives...I wonder if they're all as wealthy as Momo? _

"Hey Kacchan, what does Kirishima's parents do for a living?" Izuku asked, suddenly curious.

The question effectively halted Katsuki's colorful language for the moment as the teen glanced up at the green haired boy and merely nodded his head towards the driveway.

Izuku turned around and was met with the sight of a large, white van that had "**Kirishima's Kar 'O Fun!" **spray painted in red across the side. The windows were tinted black but one could see various items inside through the loose sliding doors, such as rope, spray cans and _is that a lions tail?_

"...Uhh.." How Izuku didn't notice the suspicious looking vehicle earlier was a mystery.

"Shitty hairs' dad's a world renowned clown." The blonde shrugged.

"That's a clown car?"

The door finally swung open and a woman with a messy, red bun and a stained apron came into view.

"Ah, Bakugou-kun! Sorry to keep you waiting, the house's packed! Well, you can see that for yourself." The lady laughed boisterously. "Come in, come in."

The noise amplified ten folds as the two were ushered inside. Kirishima wasn't exaggerating about the amount of children that would be here; tiny elementary schoolers ran rampant through the household. They all had balloon animals and their faces painted-courtesy of Kirishima's Kar o' Fun, and left a mess just about everywhere as they tripped with foods and drinks in hands. One kid smeared paint against the walls as another went around popping balloons. The crying was indistinguishable amongst the laughter and chaos.

Katsuki glared at the teen next to him. The menacing look screamed _I fucking told you so _but Izuku ignores the silently fuming blonde.

Mrs. Kirishima guides the pair through the crowded halls to her son's room. "..You must be Midoriya-kun, right?" She asks along the way.

"Yes! Thank you for having me over and sorry for the intrusion!" The jumpy boy attempted to bow but was unable to do so as he was pushed aside by a little girl and two others that chased after her.

Mrs. Kirishima laughed again, "Well, aren't you a gentleman! It's no problem at all, stay as long as you like." the redheaded woman replied. The faint smile lines around her eyes and cheeks were very reminiscent of Midoriya's own mother.

He smiled back.

They finally made it down the hall to Kirishima's room.

"Kiri~dear~ your other friends are here~!" Kirishima's mother singsonged as she knocked.

"Other? Who the f-who else is here?" The blonde questioned.

The door opened and Bakugou got his answer.

* * *

"It's not healthy to grind your teeth Bakugou. My dentist told me it can cause soreness-"

"Shut. the fuck. Up." Bakugou spat out from across the room. He sat backwards on Kirishima's desk chair while Izuku and Todoroki sat cross legged from each other, 'catching up' like a couple of school girls on the bed.

"Why the hell is IcyHot here anyway?" Katsuki demanded from the redhead playing video games on the floor.

"_Why can't he be here?_" Kirishima replied back jokingly, intending to mimic the blonde's answer from the other day. It seems to have gone over Bakugou's head as he continued his tantrum.

"You invited _me _and _Deku_ to this shitty sleepover, you never fucking _mentioned _THE HUMAN POPSICLE STICK WOULD-!"

"Kacchan, manners." Izuku scolded.

"Don't start with me, you made me come here." Katsuki growled, marching towards Izuku now. He was about to grab Deku by his shirt when Todoroki shifted in front of the other.

"Midoriya didn't force you. You made your own choice Bakugou." Todoroki intercepted the blonde, adding fuel to the fire. The sight of Todoroki sitting protectively in front of Deku made Katsuki's eye twitch.

_The fuck he think he is, Deku's knight in shining armor? _The blonde thought irritably.

Izuku put a hand on Todoroki's shoulder-_Why is he touching the half n' half bastard?-_and moved past him. He got up from the bed and stood in front of Katsuki, who didn't notice the boy in front of him as his vision filled with red.

"Kacchan," Izuku grabbed Katsuki's arms to get his attention. "I'm sorry."

_Damn right you should be._

"I shouldn't have nagged you to come but we're here already so try to have fun, 'kay? I know you and Todoroki have some issues but, well..." Midoriya paused, unsure of how Kacchan would take his words.

"We were much worse." He continued, "If you and I can become friends then you can definitely get along with Todoroki for the weekend." Izuku finished, suddenly feeling self conscious in the older boys' presence.

_We are friends now, right? _Izuku wondered as he mustered a wobbly smile despite his inner turmoil.

Katsuki was having an internal crisis of his own as he fought off the butterflies that the shy smile always seemed to evoke in his stomach. He ultimately failed as his face turned into a light shade of pink, which made Todoroki raise his eyebrows and Kirishima grin knowingly.

* * *

_The winds blew strongly that morning, the trees quivered and threatened to fall under the pressure. A storm seemed to be a-brewing. _

_A young boy in a light hoodie walked out of the hospital. Even though the temperature was below freezing, he didn't seem to notice. The cold never bothered him anyway. _

_He walked against the wind, but he wanted nothing more than to fall down in the gathering snow. _

_Fall_

_Fall_

_Fall_

_Like the branches in the wind, like the leaves in Autumn,_

_But Autumn was long gone._

"Um-Todoroki, are you reciting a poem? Sorry, I'm just-I'm kinda lost here."

Todoroki blinked his heterochromatic eyes, seeming to have come out of a trance.

"Oh. My apologies, I spaced out. What did you ask again?" Todoroki turned to Izuku as they marched forward.

"...How was your day?"

The four teenagers were currently hiking up a nearby mountain. Not the best idea when the trail was covered in four feet of snow, but it couldn't be helped as Bakugou always wanted to do things his way.

"_Alright bros, what'd ya wanna do today?"_

"_Anything but be in this stuffy room any longer." Katsuki grumbled._

"_We could go ice skating? I saw a rink nearby." Izuku suggested._

"_Excellent idea." Todoroki spoke up._

"_Fuck that, let's go hiking." _

"_But-"_

"_There's a mountain down there, why are you wimps still sitting, let's fucking go!" The blonde yelled from out the door._

"Ah, my day was good." Todoroki said, but his face and earlier reply said otherwise. Izuku wasn't sure of what to say so he awkwardly patted his back.

"Thank you for the pat Midoriya." Todoroki solemnly nodded.

"Anytime pal." Izuku sweatdropped.

Bakugou sneered at the pair from a few feet ahead; Todoroki was the only one who took notice.

"By the way, if you don't mind me asking," Todoroki lowered his voice so that Bakugou wouldn't overhear,

"Are you and Bakugou…."

Izuku tilted his head in confusion.

Todoroki cupped his gloved hand around his mouth and whispered the question in his ear.

Meanwhile Kirishima attempted to make conversation with the grouchy blonde. "Man, there's nothing manlier than four bros trudging through a snowy mountain, am I right Bakubro?"

"Three would've sufficed."

"Dude, cut him some slack. I invited him 'cause he seemed really down in the dumps this morning." Kirishima frowned. "He was just moping around a grocery store near the hospital, I think he wanted to take his mother home for the Holidays…"

Katsuki remained silent. He supposed he shouldn't be so harsh on the guy, especially during such a family oriented month.

"WHAT! NO!"

Izuku's frantic voice made Katsuki's head turn so fast he almost got whiplash.

Deku was trembling, face covered with both hands, blushing hard judging from the tips of his ears. Todoroki was a mere _centimeters_ away, puzzled with a hand still cupped to his mouth.

Katsuki saw red again.

In a blind rage, he picked up some hardened snow and flung it at the scarred face of the number 2 heros' son.

Todoroki recoiled from the impact. A gloved hand came up to where the stone hard snowball hit. Shortly afterwards, he shot snowballs of his own from his quirk.

"WHOOO, SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Kirishima shouted, either misreading the atmosphere or choosing to lighten it. He hid behind a tree and started making crudely shaped snowballs.

"Don't just stand there Midoriya, you're gonna get caught in the crossfire!" the redhead shouted.

"Huh, oh!" The green haired boy gathered his wits and hid behind a large oak tree.

The boys were engaged in a fierce battle until sundown.

* * *

Katsuki and Izuku sat side by side on the couch in the living room. Everyone else was in the dining room, eating together. There weren't enough chairs though, so the childhood friends were left out.

A plate of chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy were left untouched on both boys plates.

_How could Todoroki think we were dating? Is this what a couple looks like to him? _Izuku wondered.

The blonde hasn't said a word to the other since they came back. His face was turned away, resting on top of his palms in a bored manner. Izuku tried making conversation with the other but his attempts got little to no responses.

_Maybe he just needs some space right now… _Izuku thought as he moved to leave.

"HEY!" a voice came from nowhere. "Where are you going mister?"

Izuku jumped in his seat. A moment later he realized the voice was coming from a small child in front of him. The little pig-tailed girl frowned furiously at the seated boys.

"Why aren't you doing the thing?" She scrunched her face in distaste.

"Um.." Izuku was confused, were they supposed to be doing something? Katsuki hasn't moved but his eyes were looking at the girl too so Izuku knew he wasn't imagining her.

Izuku leaned down so that he was eye level with the kid. "..What do you mean sweetie?" he asked in his friendliest tone. He didn't want to displease the girl any further than he already seemed to have.

"The thing! Ya know! The mwah mwah!" She pointed above them. They looked up and froze at what they saw hanging above their heads.

_A mistletoe._

Izuku slowly looked back down at the boy next to him and found red eyes already staring back. His face heated up and his heart rate began beating erratically. He decided to focus on the girl instead of the unknown expression on Kacchan's face.

"Um, it's okay. People don't _have _to kiss under a mistletoe." Izuku explained.

"_Yes _you do. It's the rule."

"_Not _for everyone. We're both boys." Izuku said back, trying to dissuade her.

Katsuki was beginning to feel irritated.

"Boys can kiss too! I've seen my dads do it!" She yelled.

"Well, yes, because they're in a relationship."

Bakugou's lips tightened in a thin line.

"But-but-if you don't then you'll...you'll..curse everyone..EVERYONE IN THIS HOUSE!" The little girl began crying.

Izuku waved his hands in front of her, trying to calm her down. "No, No, No one will be cursed! That's just a superstition, make believe. It's okay, you're gonna be fine! We're all gonna be okay!"

However, the girl wouldn't stop crying and Bakugou has reached his limit.

"CAN YOU SHUT UP FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!?" He roared.

The girl stopped crying but she now stared wide eyed with fear.

Izuku stared wide eyed too, not with fear but more with worry about how far he'll go.

"It's been a _really _long day. So, I don't want to hear _a word _from you about _curses, _or _kisses _or anything else-got it? If you do, well then curses will be the least of your worries." Katsuki smiled scarily.

_Kacchan she's just a little girl, probably 6 years old. Please don't._

Izuku's silent wishes were in vain though as Katsuki leaned forward to no doubt say something extremely traumatizing to the girl.

_Oh no._

In Izuku's panic, he pulled Katsuki back by his shirt. He quickly grabbed the blondes' face with both hands. His body seemed to move on his own as he tilted his head forward and...

_kissed Kacchan's cheek._

**Reviews are appreciated but not mandatory :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello hello this chapter has been brought to you by procrastination! Now u can procrastinate too c: ****Or maybe youre a functional human bean and are reading after finishing your shit, in that case good on u! Can't relate :P**

_What have I done..?_

An equally shocked face stared back at him as he internally questioned his life decisions. His fingers were still cupped around the other's smooth cheekbones.

"Yay, we won't be cursed anymore!" the girl clapped her hands gleefully.

The noise bought Izuku out of his stupor and made the reality of the situation sink in. He quickly retracted his hands from the person that made him feel like he was on fire.

_WHAT HAVE I DONE?_

His freckles seemed to disappear as his face turned into an intense shade of red.

"THAT WASN'T-! I DIDN'T MEAN TO-!" He gestured wildly with his hands. He couldn't believe he actually did that."I tripped!That'swhy,okaynothat'snotwhyIjustdidn'twantyouto frightenthelittlegirlIreallywasn'tthinkingalthoughtIshould'vebeenstillthat'snoreasontodowhatIdidI'msosorryKacchan!" The mumbling boy bowed his head forward in apology, forgetting their current proximity in his haste.

"FUCK!" The blonde yelled, grabbing his forehead in pain.

"OH MY GOD KACCHAN!" Did he really have to _headbutt his crush right now? Seriously? After forcibly kissing his cheek?_

_What is wrong with me?!_

"I'M SO SORRY!" Izuku reached for his face again to somehow make the pain go away except _how the heck would he even do that, he doesn't have a healing quirk and if he did, he'd probably just make things worse with the way things were going-_

"Hey, you guys okay in here?" Kirishima poked his head out from the corridor. Todoroki peeked in curiously from behind the redhead.

Katsuki was still clutching his forehead while Izuku looked like he was gonna have an aneurysm. Kirishima's cousin, Tanya, stood happily in front of his friends.

She gave the redhead two thumbs up. "We're A-Okay!" she shouted.

* * *

After the incident, Izuku went to take a shower (mostly as an excuse to not be in the same room as Kacchan). Todoroki had decided to head to the guest room, it was already past his bedtime (it was 9:02 pm). So that left Kirishima and Bakugou in the redhead's room where Kirishima had finally convinced the blonde to play a match of Mario Kart with him.

_"Fine, we don't have to play. I'd obviously beat you so it'd be boring anyway."_

_"How stupid do you think I am? Tryin' frickin' reverse psychology on me."_

Yet here he was-spouting profanities as his character slowed down from being struck by a green turtle shell. His competitive nature has won out, despite recognizing his friends' dumbass plan. One could say Katsuki was the actual dumbass in this case for believing he could win against someone with years of gaming experience.

"Goddamn it.." Katsuki grumbled under his breath.

Kirishima snickered. He tossed a bomb behind him as his angry friend began to catch up.

"HOLY FUCK, CAN YOU FUCKING NOT-!"

Kirishima laughed at the raging boy. "You need to calm down~ You're being too loud~."

"You really need to stop quoting shitty pop songs. It's a bad habit." Bakugou growled as he mashed the buttons on the controller.

"So is hiding secrets from your best friend." Kirishima easily dodged a missile. "How come you never told me you had a thing for Midoriya?"

Katsuki accidently drove off the edge of the rainbow road.

"Where did you get that idea from?" The blonde asked indifferently.

"Well, the fact that you haven't tried punching me yet is a dead giveaway." The redhead smirked as he took his eyes off the screen to watch his friends' reaction.

The blonde merely rolled his eyes as he attempted to ward off the pink creeping up his neck.

"I don't know what the fuck you're on about, me and Deku are just friends."

"But friends don't know the way you taste la la la~~"

Kirishima hardened his body right as Bakugou's fist collided with his chest. "See, that time I knew you'd punch me, man you're so easy to read sometimes."

"Fucking shit for brains, how did you even know about.." Katsuki suddenly trailed off as he was about to say _the kiss._

An unfamiliar, yet frequent as of late, emotion surged through Katsuki. His insides practically exploded with butterflies as he recalled the feeling of the soft lips against his skin. He felt warm all over and suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

_Stupid fucking nerd...why can't he ever think before he does shit…_

"Tanya told me. Honestly, that was pretty manly of Midoriya, didn't think he had it in him to try something like that." Kirishima said proudly as he won another match. He turned off the console and turned to face Katsuki completely.

"Whoa, dude are you blushing?" Kirishima asked in surprise, crocodile teeth fully exposed in a shit eating grin.

"Shut up, I'll kill you." Bakugou muttered half-heartedly.

The empty threat was particularly ineffective with the state Katsuki was currently in. He was completely red from the neck up and seemed to be deep in thought as he stared off into the distance.

Kirishima's smirk turned into a genuine smile. He's glad that Bakugou has emotions other than anger and bloodthirst.

* * *

"On the second day of Kiri-mas, Midoriya's true love gave to meee~"

"Kirishima please stop." The flustered boy begged.

"Twoooo death glares and a Todoroki in a Deku treeee~"

"That doesn't even make sense." The half white, half red haired boy complained as they once again hiked up the mountain. This time though, they dragged sleds with them.

Or Kirishima and Todoroki did, having only two sleds. Bakugou was ahead of them and threw glares back every once in awhile.

Izuku helped Todoroki with his sled, still not yet ready to talk to the blonde-and for that he was punished with Kirishima's relentless teasing. The redhead had apparently figured out Izuku liked their short tempered companion after Tanya described _exactly_ what took place yesterday. Initially, Izuku had denied Kirishima's accusations.

He's never been a good liar.

"It doesn't need to make sense; love is senseless after all, right Midobro?"

"I'm not in _love_…"

The green haired boy sighed as he looked up at the blonde ahead of him. It was like they went back in time. Izuku could only watch the blondes' back as he walked out of his reach...

Surprisingly, it was Todoroki who spoke next,

"You should tell him how you feel."

Izuku heated up at the idea of confessing but immediately shook his head at the suggestion.

_Kacchan doesn't like me like that, why would he?_ But instead of saying the self deprecating thought aloud, Izuku replied with,

"Ah, it's okay-I'm more than happy to just be Kacchan's friend…If we're even friends anymore…"

"Don't worry 'bout it Midoriya, I'm sure it'll all work out." Kirishima comforted him.

Izuku nodded, though he doubted it.

They finally reached the peak of the mountain. They didn't quite make it to the top the day before as they got distracted but they made it today and it was a sight to behold. The entire town could be seen from this view. Fresh snow decorated the rooftops of every house, making even the smallest, poorest areas look nice and cozy as smoke drifted from their chimneys.

The way down the hill was a little steep and had trees littered throughout, but it was nothing they couldn't manage.

"I call shotgun!" Kirishima exclaimed, running to the front seat of the sled.

Todoroki shrugged and followed the redhead. He didn't particularly care one way or the other, he could glide away on his own ice anytime after all.

"Wait-I thought you were sitting with me To-" Izuku was cut off by a nearby growl. He turned around and came face to face with an angry Kacchan.

"Get in the back Deku." Katsuki ordered as he strode past him.

Izuku gulped and mentally prepared himself for the disaster awaiting ahead.

* * *

_I can't believe Deku would wanna ride with the fuckface over me._ Katsuki thought as he got in his seat. He could feel the sled shift slightly as Deku carefully got in behind him.

What really angered Bakugou wasn't the fact that he wanted to ride with Todoroki of all people, no, but instead it was the fact that Deku hadn't even talked to him _once_ today. The blonde thought he made it very_ clear_ that he forgave him for his moronic mistake.

He didn't try to steal Deku's second strip of bacon at breakfast, he didn't try to blow up the bathroom when Deku took _almost an hour showering._ He didn't even call the other _'stupid'_ or a_ 'klutz'_ or a _'goddamn melvin'_ even though he was a _stupid fucking goddamn klutzy melvin_-although that last one had more to do with the fact that the mousey boy would squeak and speed walk in the other direction whenever Katsuki came near him…

The point is, he was trying to be _nice_ so that Deku would realize he wasn't_ mad_ about what happened.

Does he outright have to tell the nerd '_Hey I actually didn't mind that you kissed me so talk to me cuz I miss hearing your dumb voice_' to get it through his thick fucking skull?

"Um...Kacchan?"

The hair on Katsuki's neck stiffened as he felt the hot breath whispered against his exposed skin.

"Hm?" Bakugou intelligently replied, keeping his face forward.

"Should we go now? Kirishima and Todoroki are already halfway down…"

Katsuki clicked his tongue to feign annoyance. "Well, if you're ready.." the bonde grumbled.

The taller boy abruptly pushed his weight against the front of the sled, moving it into motion. Gravity pulled the old sled down fast.

"AhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The green haired boys' scream got louder the further down they went. It turns out he _wasn't_ prepared, he didn't expect to go this fast. When his fingers began slipping from their hold on the sides, he wrapped his arms around Kacchan's midsection.

Katsuki suddenly felt weightless. Not just because they were flying down the mountain. He could feel the smaller boys' heart beating fast against his back, trembling arms wrapped tighter around his abdomen.

And then out of nowhere a tree appeared.

**SKRRRREEEEE-**

Katsuki managed to maneuver around the tree just in time to avoid crashing into it, however he made the turn too quickly and flipped their sled over in the process. The boys went flying off to the side.

"Ugh, fuck.." Katsuki groaned as he lifted his head out of the snow bank. After a moment he realized Deku wasn't there. He looked left and right but all he could see was an endless sheet of white.

"Deku? DEKU!" His eyes widened when he still couldn't find him.

_Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit-_ Katsuki began hyperventilating as he searched around and the worst came to mind.

_Did he fall down further? What if he's unconscious, what if he actually did hit the tree? WHERE IS HE?_

Just as Bakugou was about to have a meltdown, he noticed movement in the thick layers of snow. He ran to the spot and found the freckled boy.

He let out a sigh of relief.

Katsuki crouched down on his knees and helped the green haired boy sit up. He held one hand on his back for support and used the other to tilt Izuku's head up at him. Red eyes darted all over the place, inspecting for injuries.

Izuku was fine though, for the most part.

Green eyes blearily opened to a hazy image of a frantic Kacchan. The sight made the corners of his emerald eyes crinkle as a smile crept up his lips.

"The fuck are you smiling about- shit, did you hit your head? How many fingers am I holding up?"

Izuku let out a soft laugh, which only concerned the blonde more, and then said,

"Sorry, sorry, I just um-" He giggled in between his sentences, "Uh-I remembered what you said another day. About green being bad luck, guess you were right." He smiled.

"...Okay, where's the nearest hospital?"

Midoriya burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing he's ever heard in his life. Truthfully, Izuku was just happy being in this moment with Kacchan. He's happy that Kacchan was so concerned. He's happy he could talk to Kacchan again.

He's only a little dizzy when he leaned his head into the blondes' neck.

Katsuki's heart thumped as the smaller boy slumped against him. He glanced down and let out a sigh.

_He's so fucking useless._ Bakugou thought fondly. He scooped Izuku into his arms and began trekking down the mountain.

Katsuki had a lot of time to think during the journey downwards.

The way his heart pounded with each step he took, the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about the kiss Deku gave him, Katsuki could only come to one conclusion. The conclusion he's been trying to deny ever since he got to know the sleeping boy in his arms better. He couldn't deny it anymore, not when he was currently counting the amount of freckles on his childhood friends' face.

His heart stuttered as he admitted to himself,

_I like Deku._


	8. Chapter 8

The boys came back to the house after the sledding debacle. The group of four were reduced to two since Izuku was still unconscious and Todoroki left earlier than planned because of an unexpected call from his sister.

The stoic boy didn't say much throughout the phone call, often just nodding his head before responding with a curt "Yes" when he realized she couldn't see him. The two teens watching him assumed it was good news though as Shoto's expressionless face lit up into a slightly less dead inside one. He gathered his clothes and other belongings shortly after their conversation ended.

"_It's been a ride." _The eccentric boy had said monotonously as he bid his farewells. An odd way to say he had fun but at least he was trying to express himself.

Communication was something they could _all_ stand to improve upon...

"Sorry, could you repeat that again?" Kirishima asked while petting Jr. Explosion Murder. He was sitting on the left side of his bed and spoke in a low tone so as to not awaken Midoriya, who laid in the middle.

"Go fuck yourself on a cactus." the blonde hissed from the other side of the bed.

"No, no, I don't think that was it." Kirishima smirked. The smirk suddenly dropped. "Or was it? I really couldn't hear you, but! I think you asked…." he pointed a finger at the blonde as he squinted his eyes in thought.

"How do you...fret over a...rush?"

Katsuki stared blankly at the redhead.

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense-okay, how do youuuuu..let go of a...tush?" Kirishima's eyes widened in realization.

"OHHHHH! MIDORIYA'S T**-OWW!**"

"HOW DO YOU GET OVER A CRUSH YOU FUCKING MORON!?"

The room turned deafeningly silent.

Kirishima's hands froze on the area he was hit as he digested the words. Bakugou was currently hunched over Izuku's body, fists shaking on top of the mattress but ready to go should the redhead need another smack. The bed dipped slightly as Izuku rolled over on his side.

"Kaa..cchann.." the sleeping boy murmured softly. His nose scrunched like a rabbits' as he shifted closer towards Katsuki. Bakugou steadily turned into the color of Kirishima's hair as Izuku leaned his forehead against his knee and smiled that smile that always drove Katsuki crazy. The red faced blonde carefully shifted away from the teen as he sat back in his seat and looked anywhere except Kirishima's way.

He just _knew_ the _bastard _was wearing a shit eating grin.

"Damn, you got it bad."

"Who the fuck asked you?"

The redhead gave him a pointed look.

"...I don't know who else to talk to about this shit. Google was no fucking help."

"Well, first of all," Kirishima clapped his hands together loudly, which startled the kitten off his lap, "Congratulations! You got over the hardest step-admitting it. I'm proud of you bro! Now, the second step depends on the route you wanna take." Kirishima bought his fingers together the way a doctor or therapist would.

_I regret everything._ Katsuki thinks.

"I'm guessing you _don't _want to pursue a relationship?"

Bakugou stayed silent, Kirishima took that as a yes.

"Why not?" the redhead questioned. _Midoriya obviously likes you back _Kirishima wanted to say but refrained from doing so 'cause of the bro code.

"_Because,_" Bakugou groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Deku's...Deku."

Kirishima waited for him to continue.

"He's _Deku._" Katsuki repeats. "The same annoying kid who's been following me around since pre-k, he's a nerd. And a loser. And a crybaby. A dumbass who rushes in to save everyone without any regard for himself. He's way too fucking kind and understanding and _forgiving_ for his own good...that's why everyone loves him. He's sweet, and easy to talk to, he's one of the few people on Earth who'll _listen_ to you and actually _hear _you and-_**fucking hell!**_" Katsuki abruptly cut himself off and slammed a fist down on a nearby drawer.

The sound echoed through the room. The atmosphere was suddenly thick with tension as smoke steamed through the angry teen's palms.

"I bullied him." Katsuki's fingers clenched and unclenched in a repetitive motion. "I made Deku miserable for **years**, how can I say _I like him_ after that? It's fucking absurd." Katsuki chuckled cynically.

_What a fucking joke._

Kirishima was quiet for a moment. He then tentatively says "...You know he forgave you Bakugou..."

"He shouldn't have." the other replies sharply.

"Dude, you're not the same person you were then. Hell, you're not the same person you were a few months ago. You've changed-for the better, everyone in 1-A's noticed. Midoriya most of all." Eijiro's eyebrows furrowed together. "Don't beat yourself up over the past."

Katsuki remained silent for a long time.

"...Either way, Deku deserves more…." Bakugou sighed exasperatedly. "So how the fuck do I move on?"

Kirishima sighs as well, unsure of how he could convince Bakugou that _he is worthy of Midoriya's affection_. The redhead decides that his friend needs a distraction from his predicament right now and so changes the topic.

"Let's go bake some cookies, that'll help you get over him!"

* * *

Izuku's eyes fluttered open at the distant sound of childrens' laughter amongst the clanging of pots and pans. A ceiling fan hung low above him, the color of the ceiling itself was indiscernible as it was littered with glow in the dark stars.

_Why am I in Kirishima's room? _Izuku wondered as he sat up. The thought was soon forgotten as a different question popped to mind.

_What is that smell?_

It smelled _amazing_, a sweet blend of chocolate hazelnut mixed with vanilla extract surrounded his senses.

A loud "GODDAMN IT!" rang out from the corridor, followed by a chorus of high pitched laughter. "SHUT UP YA BRATS!" This time Izuku giggled along with them.

_He sounds just like Aunt Mitsuki right now. _Izuku thought to himself as he went to the kitchen. The green haired boy stopped at the entryway, arms crossed as he simply watched his crush of eleven years.

The oblivious blonde was currently scraping crisp, tan cookies off the tray and into the trash while Kirishimas' young cousins gathered around him, attempting to snatch the cookies as they fell.

"Don't touch those you little sh-kids."

Izuku held back a bout of laughter at the blondes' _subtle_ correction. His feet began shuffling towards his angry friend as Katsuki shooed the _kids_ away. The blondes' hands seemed to slip slightly as he noticed the other boy approaching, tray falling almost completely in the trash.

"Why're you throwing them out?" Midoriya questioned. "They look _amazing._" He said as he took one of the surviving cookies. It was fresh out of the oven so Izuku blew lightly on it before taking a bite.

_Mmmhhmm, soooo goood. _The chocolate melted on his tongue, it tasted _heavenly_.

Katsuki's gaze settled somewhere around Izuku's shoulder as he replied, "I left them in too long...they're rough around the edges..."

Izuku blinked. Kacchan seemed awkward somehow. The tips of his ears were tinted pink and he wasn't meeting Izuku's eyes _at all_, not to mention his voice was unusually soft and hesitant, almost as if he was unsure of himself.

_Is he...embarrassed? Of what, the cookies? _Izuku bite down on his lip to prevent a squeal from escaping. _Why is that so cute?_

Izuku instead let out a small chuckle. "Ever the perfectionist I see." Katsuki merely rolled his eyes. After a moment he asked the green haired boy,

"...How's your head?"

"Eh? Oh, it's much better now, thanks to you." Izuku continued smiling despite the growing heat in his cheeks. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep against Kacchan's shoulders, he could only assume that Kacchan carried him all the way down the mountain.

Bakugou shrugged and set the empty tray in the sink. "I didn't do anything." he grumbled, going towards the fridge. He took two eggs out and cracked them in a bowl, preparing to make a second batch.

Izuku hummed, lightly rocking back and fourth on the heels of his feet in a childlike manner.

"Can I help?"

* * *

Katsuki thought he would have a harder time talking to Deku due to the circumstances but surprisingly, conversation flowed easily between them.

"He even had the 10th anniversary tapestry that wasn't for sale! I wanted it soooo bad, I wanted everything in his office-"

"You're telling me that Nighteye's an even bigger fanboy than you are?" Katsuki snorted as he whisked away at the lumps. "That's not possible."

"Kacchan, I swear! I'll introduce you one day, then you can see for yourself! Oh, but don't forget to have a good joke prepared before you meet him, okay?"

Katsuki held back a bark of laughter at imagining Deku's All Might face. How did Nighteye not laugh at that? That always managed to make Katsuki crack up in their younger days, and Deku hadn't even perfected it then.

Bakugou suddenly felt the urge to see it again.

"Lemme see your All Might face." He said, handing the bowl to Deku.

"No, I'm not making that face again! Not until it's perfect." Izuku said determinedly as he scooped the dough out onto the tray and began shaping them. Katsuki leaned against the white, kitchen island, face in his palms as he attempted to convince the boy.

"C'mon, just do it."

"Nooooooo." The green haired boy refused, carefully cutting the edges of the cookie into a tree shape.

"Ya know ya wanna." The blonde said with a temptatious lilt to his voice as he stepped closer.

"Um, no, I don't." Izuku replied, too focused on the task at hand to notice the step.

"Sure about that?" Katsuki asked, slowly inching closer.

"Yeah."

"Positive?"

"Yup."

"Are you really, _really_ sure?"

"Yea-Ah! Kacchan!" Izuku yelped in surprise. His freckled face was currently smushed in between the blondes' rough hands, cheeks pulled upwards by calloused thumbs. Izuku laughed as the blonde tugged harder on his cheeks.

"S-stop it!" he gasped in between his giggles, struggling to remove the others' hold on him.

"I'm just trying to help, Nighteye said you were off by a few centimeters right?" Katsuki grinned as he trapped the smaller boy in between himself and the counter. He stretched the cute face out even further. "I'm gonna make you an exact fucking replica." He whispered by his ear.

"Is that a threat?" Izuku laughed, unaware of how close the blonde was.

"No, _of course not_." The previous statement was accompanied with a menacing smile.

Kirishima watched the scene from a distance, shaking his head at his pining friends. _How do they not know? It's so clear. _He thought inwardly as he walked away to the living room, giving the pair privacy.

_Show him he's worthy, Midoriya. _

* * *

It was finally time to leave the Kirishima household. Izuku stood besides Katsuki at the front door as he waved to Kirishima's family.

"Thank you for having us, it was nice meeting you all!" Izuku said, although he hadn't really met anyone. Regardless, they all shouted friendly farewells back.

"Goodbye!"

"Nice meeting you too!"

"Byeeeee!"

"Come again soon." Kirishima's mother smiled.

"See you later bros." Her son winked.

"Bye." Kirishima's father said last, abruptly slamming the door shut while everyone was still saying their goodbyes.

Izuku froze mid-wave and sweatdropped as a muffled "_Why are you so you?_" could be heard from the other side, most likely Mrs. Kirishima.

"Kirishima's dad doesn't seem to like us much..." Izuku said weakly to the blonde next to him.

"Nah, he's always like that, it's just his personality...reminds me of Aizawa kinda." Katsuki said thoughtfully.

"Huh, he kinda does.." The green haired boy agreed in wonder. "Mr. Aizawa as a famous clown…" Izuku shook the bizarre thought off.

"Okay, we should get going now." He was about to begin walking when a warm hand stopped him in his tracks.

_Eh?_

Izuku's curls whipped the air as he turned to stare dubiously at the teen holding his hand.

Vibrant red eyes stared back.

"Not yet." Katsuki said, defined features free of expression, giving Izuku no clue as to what the other was thinking.

A blush belatedly made its way up Izuku's face.

"Kacchan, what're you…?"

Katsuki ignored the unfinished question and tugged Izuku's hand slightly, pulling him forward. The confused boy could do nothing but open and shut his mouth like a fish out of water as the blonde came closer. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against the smaller boys'.

"Ka-Kac-chan..?" He stammered, beyond baffled at his childhood friends actions. Because seriously,

_Where is this coming from?!_

"_Deku._" Katsuki replied gently, sending shivers down Izuku's spine as the breath mingled with his own irregular breathing. Bakugou's other hand came up to cradle Deku's trembling jawline, effectively short-circuiting Izuku's brain when he tilted his chin upwards so that their lips were lined up.

_Asdafbwvjbveftralkadnlkdnqwhivbquweoerhwhat? What!?_

Izuku could hear his heartbeat in his ears as the tips of their noses touched. Time seemed to slow down yet speed up at the same time.

_Ohmygodohmygodohmygod, is this actually happening?_ He could see every little detail in Katsuki's eyes, every variety of red and hints of brown in his irises. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut as his anxiety kicked into overdrive, nervous but excited at the prospect of what was coming next.

Meanwhile, Katsuki let himself smile genuinely now that Izuku couldn't see him.

_He's so fucking adorable._ Katsuki thought to himself, wanting nothing more than to close the gap between them.

But sadly, he couldn't.

Deku would react this way with anyone after all. He's an easily flustered nerd, so even if it looked like Deku wanted to kiss him just as badly, Katsuki couldn't be sure. He could be misreading the atmosphere, imagining things that weren't there.

And so he settled for a quick peck on the cheek since he could _never_ have the real thing.

Forest green eyes sprang open in surprise and _disappointment..? No, I'm seeing shit again, fuck I need to fix that._

Katsuki pulled away and put his hands in his pockets as Izuku tried to process what had just occurred.

"Wha...why?….."

Bakugou pointed upwards, amused by the others' dumbfoundedness.

_Payback bitch._

Izuku followed his finger and groaned at what he saw.

A mistletoe.

"Now we're even." Katsuki smirked.

**Edit-2/13/20 ...I'm all caught up with the anime now and I assume you are too...My kokoro is brokoro :'(**

**Soooooo for the timeline of this story, let's just pretend their break started before the whole Eri thing...**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm sorry, this chapter got done wayyyyy later than I wanted it done by but my life has just been _chaotic lately_...****It's here now though so enjoy!**

_Does he know?_

_There's no way he could know, right? I've kept it a secret this long, he couldn't have figured it out after all this time. _

_Right?_

Snow crunched softly under Izuku's battered, red sneakers as he dazedly followed Katsuki down Golden Avenue. The blonde walked at a slow and leisurely pace; easy to keep up with, yet Izuku fell behind anyway. He was too caught up in his own thoughts.

_No, he doesn't know-he was just getting revenge, he said so himself… _He finally concluded.

The green haired boy grimaced as he remembered the exchange from nearly half an hour ago. He was so _sure _that Kacchan was going to kiss him _on the lips. _He should've known better, the only way Kacchan would do _that _was if they were in a _TV show_ or _fanfiction or something._

_If he did like me though, if it wasn't just payback…_ Heat gathered in Izuku's cheeks as he imagined what could've happened in an alternate universe, _If Kacchan kissed me, he would've ran his long, rough fingers through my hair, push me up against the door, bite down on my lip and-_

Katsuki suddenly came to a stop and looked back at Izuku, who startled and immediately averted his eyes.

"Wha-what is it?" Izuku squeaked, wrapping his arms across his chest, somehow thinking he'd feel less _exposed _that way.

Bakugou paid no attention to Izuku's mannerisms and jerked a thumb to the side.

"Is that the rink you were talking about before? Mikasa Ice Arena?"

Izuku turned to where Katsuki was referring to and lit up at the sight.

"Yeah," He chirped, "That's the one."

Not too far away stood a huge sign that read "_Welcome to Mikasa Ice Arena, where Mi Kasa es Su Kasa!" _Underneath the sign was a long haired man in a sombrero, handing out free samples of hot chocolate. A frozen lake surrounded by multiple booths could be seen off in the distance, just beyond the entrance. The tiny stands sold food, ice skates, and a wide range of souvenirs. There was also a stage set up nearby for up and coming artists wishing to perform; that was probably the reason it was so crowded today.

Izuku was still admiring the area as Katsuki scuffed his shoes against the icy ground, internally debating with himself. He looked back and forth from the ice rink to the twinkle in Izuku's eyes and sighed.

"...Wanna check it out?" Katsuki begrudgingly asked.

"Can we?!" Izuku whipped around, grinning from ear to ear. Bakugou took a step back 'cause the other was too close. Izuku seemed to realize himself and took a step back as well.

"I mean-only if _you_ want to, heh heh…" Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "You probably don't though...which is okay! I don't really wanna go either, _pffft_-who the heck would wanna go to Mikasa's? It's only number 3 on Japan's best ice skating rinks-doesn't even deserve that number, it looks _lame_, ice skating is _lame, _Todoroki's quirk is _lame_, actually no it's not, I don't know why I said that-"

Bakugou cut the other boys' nonsensical rambling short by grabbing his hand and pulling them towards the entrance. Izuku stumbled from abruptly being dragged along, but eventually found his footing and walked normally besides the blonde.

"If you want something, just say so…" Katsuki murmured, somewhat peeved at Deku for not being assertive enough. _I'm probably the reason for that though… _He thought guiltily, memories of his past torments resurfacing to the top.

Izuku stared at the hand in his. His expression twisted into an odd mix of anxious determination as he considered the others' words.

_If you want something…._

Bakugou began to let go of the others' hand, however, couldn't. Pale fingers intertwined between tan ones, keeping them firmly in place.

Izuku smiled gently at Katsuki's questioning look, his emerald eyes shined brightly with a strong, unknown emotion as he boldly declared,

"You're right Kacchan."

Bakugou remained puzzled for a few seconds. When he finally registered the meaning behind such a statement, his face _exploded_ in color.

_Did he just-? Did Deku really just imply that..? No, no fucking way he meant it like that, Deku's just being stupid again..._ Katsuki looked away and scoffed to cover up the _completely unwarranted_ emotion he felt from such simple words.

"Well, you're a regular fucking _casanova _aren't ya?" Katsuki says sarcastically, though his throat felt tight and constricted.

"I am." Izuku says seriously, making the blonde do a double take.

"I have a harem, didn't ya know?" He then says, grinning cheekily. Their linked appendages swung as Izuku moved with a bounce in his steps.

Katsuki stares for a while and then snorts, feeling less on edge from the stupid joke.

"I always knew you were secretly a hoe." He says, playing along. "Always hanging out with that floaty chick and four eyes, looking all shady when no one's around. You guys are a bunch of nerds though so your idea of third base is probably finishing a year long _lego project._"

"You mean that's _not _third base?" Izuku gaped, pretending to be shocked. "Is first base not setting the foundation for my lego empire?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble but _nope_." Katsuki replies.

Izuku gasps dramatically, "Here I thought I had already struck a homerun, but I never even got to first base. My life is a _lie_."

"Don't worry, I'll show you all the bases one day." Katsuki winks.

Izuku flushes from the tips of his toes to the roots of his hair.

"LOOK, WE'RE HERE!" The flustered boy says a bit too loudly, pulling away from the blonde to practically _sprint _over to the ticket stand. Katsuki bites down a laugh as the other nearly trips over his own feet in his haste.

* * *

Five minutes later, Bakugou trips over his own feet.

_**THWACK!**_

"Kacchan, it's okay if you don't know how to-"

"I GOT THIS!"

"But-"

_**THWACK!**_

That makes it the fourth time that Katsuki has plunged face first onto the ice. To his credit though, he gets up straight away to give it another shot. But of course, the cycle continues and he loses his balance _again. _

However, Izuku was prepared this time and caught him by the arms before the blonde could further hurt himself.

Katsuki's hands landed on Izuku's sleeves, just in time to prevent their heads from knocking together; Their faces were level now, Katsuki being slightly hunched over on his unsteady feet while Izuku stood tall and strong, being the pillar that held them both up.

Bakugou scowls. "Deku, I don't need your help-I can do this, just give me ti-_Why _did you just _poke my nose?_"

"'Cause your arrogance was showing." Izuku replies promptly with puffed out cheeks. "Here, hold my hands."

"Again?" Katsuki asks without thinking.

Izuku rolls his eyes as a faint blush spots his cheek. "Just do it."

Surprisingly, Bakugou listens and steadily slides his hands down to hold Izuku's.

"Now bend your knees." Izuku instructs. Katsuki follows.

"Good." The green haired boy then began to slowly skate backwards, the blonde slid along with him in the same rigid pose.

"...You can start walking now, Kacchan." Izuku says, holding back a giggle.

Gradually, Katsuki relaxes his muscles and moves his legs forward clumsily. Soon enough though, they were in sync and Izuku only had to hold his one hand.

"Shit, this feels pretty nice actually." Katsuki says after a while.

"See? I told ya ice skating is fun! When you're not falling on your face every two seconds that is."

"_What was that __Deku_?"

Literal sparks set off in the blondes' fingertips, stinging the other the way mini firecrackers would.

"Ah!" Izuku yelped, yanking his hand away-or trying to; Katsuki held on tightly. "I meant-! Wow! Kacchan! You're doing great, such a fast learner!" Midoriya laughs uneasily through his pain.

Katsuki smirks for a second but then frowns.

_The hell am I doing? I literally just forced him to say that by __**hurting **__him. _Katsuki's stomach lurched forward, _I thought I was over petty shit like this, what the fuck is wrong with me?_

"Kacchan?" A soft voice calls out. Katsuki blinks and finds a set of worried green eyes staring at him.

"What's wrong?" Izuku asks, eyebrows pinched together in concern.

The emerald green eyes glistened in the evening sun as they analyzed him, it was the same look that Deku always gave him as a child, the same look that could see right through him, right to his _soul_.

Bakugou suddenly broke his hands away as they began to tremor.

"Nothing." Katsuki said. He wasn't ready to open that can of worms just yet, _especially_ not in public. He abruptly changes the subject,

"I bet I can get to the other side of the lake before you can." He taunts with a forced smirk.

Izuku frowned; he knew what Kacchan was trying to do, but it was probably for the best to just let it go for now.

"You're on." The green haired boy accepts the challenge. "I think _I_ have the advantage here though Kacchan, considering you _just_ learned how to skate."

Katsuki's smirk turns a little bit more genuine. "Maybe, maybe not."

"What's_ that_ supposed to mean?" Izuku blinks in confusion.

"Nothing. Alright, on the count of three." Katsuki says. "One….."

"No wait!" Izuku interrupts, "I'm counting!"

"_Wha_-why? Why _the fuck_ does it matter whose _counting?_"

"'Cause," he says, crossing his arms, "I feel like you're gonna say 'three' when I least expect it and get a head start on me." The freckled boy explained himself.

"The fuck?" Katsuki scoffs, "I wouldn't pull a chickenshit move like that but _whatever_, go ahead and count since you want to so badly."

"_Thank you._" Izuku says, stepping in line with the blonde. "Alright, ready?"

Katsuki nods.

"Okay, one…..." Midoriya leans forward and puts a hand on his knee.

"Two…..." Bakugou cracks his knuckles for some reason.

"**Three!**" Izuku shouts, surging into motion. Katsuki stayed still for a moment,

Before setting off an explosion behind him.

"KACCHAN!" Izuku shouts as Katsuki propels past him. "YOU CAN'T USE YOUR QUIRK, THAT'S CHEATING!"

"SAYS WHO?" Katsuki laughs maniacally as he left a blazing trail of melted ice behind him.

The rink was _definitely_ going to fine them. At least they won't be charged with a public safety hazard fine since most civilians were off the ice by now.

Well, since they were gonna be fined anyway, Izuku activated his own quirk and caught up to the fire wielder in a matter of seconds-except, his alignment was off and he ran right into the others' back.

The pair collided painfully and spun off into a snowbank.

"Urgh..." Izuku groaned as he saw stars for the umpteenth time that week.

Snow surrounded him, it was in his ears, his shoes, his gloves, everywhere. And he couldn't even move since he was trapped underneath Katsuki. The aforementioned slowly lifted his head up and shook the excess snow off his hair.

Izuku's breath hitched at the sight.

The sun overhead cast a sort of a halo effect around Katsuki, illuminating his golden locks. The tips of his hair were peppered with snow, giving the spikes a softer appearance and contrasting sharply with ruby red eyes. A strange warmth flooded Izuku's senses as the blonde suddenly smiled.

_Truly smiled._

"Deku, you goddamn _klutz_." Katsuki said in an almost affectionate-_affectionate?_-tone. He let out a tiny exhale of a laugh as he spoke, "You had an entire rink to yourself yet you _still_ managed to run right into me, how is that even possible?"

Izuku shrugged, not really knowing how to respond.

"I always do the impossible." He says flippantly.

This time Katsuki _really_ laughs, a smooth velvety sound that makes Izuku's stomach do somersaults.

"Fuck yeah you do." He says, _definitely_ in an affectionate tone.

Izuku's palms started sweating profusely as his heart raced fast and loud.

_thumpthumpthumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP_

**_THUMP!_**

Katsuki was suddenly sitting on the ice, confusion etched over his features while Izuku was on his feet.

_...What just happened?_ Midoriya wondered.

He looked down at his hands, they were shaking uncontrollably. _Did I just push Kacchan? When? _He couldn't remember at all, his body must've moved on its' own accord.

'Uh...sorry.." Izuku stammers, searching for words inside his head. "It was cold, I didn't mean to..push...you..." he murmurs as scratches the back of his head, distracted by the fluttering sensation in his stomach that grew stronger by the second.

The green haired boy swiftly turned away to walk to the booths. "I think that's enough skating for one day..." He murmurs to the blonde as he leaves.

As soon as he was out of Katsuki's sight, he bought one hand up to his chest and squeezed the fabric that was directly over his heart. He leaned his other hand against a nearby lamp post and breathed in though his nose and out his mouth, as if he had just ran a marathon.

_ThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThump..._

_What is wrong with me? _His stomach was still churning and his heart couldn't seem to calm down.

Kacchan's smile suddenly flashed through his mind.

Then the kiss from Kirishima's house, the apprehension in the air from when they held hands, the oddly flirty jokes Kacchan would say from time to time, the way Kacchan would flush occasionally without a reason.

_There's no way, _Izuku shook his head in denial. _There's NO WAY he feels the same._

_He **does not** like me that way-he can't, there's no way he would._

_I'm overthinking things, like I always do, it's just not possible-i__t's just NOT._

_...Right?_

**Good? Bad? Lemme know what you guys think. Next update will be sometime in February cuz I'm going on vacation to a shithole country with no wifi or indoor plumbing -.-**

**Wish me luck, byeeeee**


	10. Chapter 10

Katsuki Bakugou is stumped.

One moment, Deku was all happy-go-lucky and the next he looked freakin' _terrified._

And Bakugou had No. Idea. Why.

_Was it something I did? Was it 'cuz I cheated? No, he wouldn't be scared by that. _The blonde racked his brain for anything he might've done wrong in the past hour.

_Wait._

He sat upright as a thought came to mind.

_Was it 'cuz I smiled?! _Alarm bells rang in his head as he remembered how the corners of his lips had automatically turned upwards at seeing Izuku surrounded by snow, wide eyed with dewy, pink cheeks.

_Fuck! Was it that fucking creepy?! _He wondered anxiously, peering at his reflection from a glass window and trying to replicate the smile he had made then.

A little boy watching from inside saw Bakugous' attempts and briefly broke out in a sob. Katsuki quickly turned away when the childs' mother began to frantically search about for the cause of his dismay.

_Goddamn it… _Bakugou thought.

"It's a sin to frighten children you know?" A feminine voice called out from above.

Bakugou looked up and sneered at the girl talking to him, "Yeah? Well, you know what they say when you assume shit. Makes an ass out of you and me or whatever so how about you _mind your own damn business?_" He snarled.

"_Ugh!_ What vulgar language!" The girl cried out, she looked really familiar now that Bakugou took a good look. She had fair skin and vines for hair-a feature one would normally notice right away, but Bakugou couldn't place where he's seen her before.

"You should go to church sir, I hear there's one not too far up the road." She said, taking a seat next to him. She dug through her purse and pulled out a pamphlet, "Here, have this."

Katsuki glanced over the laminated cover; the image of Jesus being hung on the cross was exaggerated and quite _visceral-to be frank._ Captioned above his spilled guts were the words '_Die the right way!' _in off-putting bright bubble letters.

Katsuki Bakugou has left the bench.

* * *

_He __**does not**_ _like me that way-he can't. There's no way he would. I'm overthinking things, like I always do, It's just not possible-it's just NOT._

_Right?_

"Wrong!"

"Eeeep!" Izuku jumped a foot in the air and slipped backwards as he came back down.

"Oh shit, sorry Midoriya! I didn't mean to scare you! My bad." Denki apologized before lending a hand to the other.

"Kaminari!" Midoriya exclaimed in surprise. He graciously accepted the help. "What're you doing here? I didn't expect to see you-not that I'm unhappy about it or anything-!" The extra sentence felt necessary to add after a _lifetime_ of misunderstandings with _another _certain blonde.

Kaminari grinned and gestured behind him. The green haired boy tilted his head and saw a green haired _girl _in the distance, sitting on a bench. She looked awfully lost.

"Ah!" Recognition flickered across his features. "That's the girl from the sports festival! What was her name again..? Shiza...shizo…?"

"Ibara Shiozaki! She's my date!" Kaminari proudly announced.

"Really? That's great Kaminari!" Izuku clapped as if the electric boy had just won a medal. He's genuinely happy for him, Kaminari has wanted a girlfriend for _forever_ and after many, _many _rejections, he finally got a date!

"Kanashami!" Ibara suddenly shouted, "Are you sure we're at the right place?"

"Yes my dear, I'm positive~! Don't worry your pretty little head about it!"

"My phone says St. Chapels is another _20 miles_ in the other direction! Are you actually a tour guide?"

"..."

"..."

"J-just a minute!" Denki shouted back, "I'm talking to a friend!-And the name's Kaminari!" Before Midoriya could further pity him, Kaminari swiftly steered the conversation away from himself.

"So anyway! Enough about _me_, who were _you_ mumbling about just a moment ago?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Izuku stared blankly, seemingly confused. Kaminari sensed this and jogged his memory,

"Ya know? When you were saying stuff like, '_They'll never like me back, it's impossible'-_something like that?"

Izuku's eyes grew wide in realization. _AHHHH! I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS TALKING ALOUD! THAT'S SO EMBARRASSING, WHAT IF I STAYED BACK WITH KACCHAN AND BEGAN RAMBLING LIKE THAT!? THAT'D BE THE ABSOLUTE WORST WAY TO CONFESS-!_

"BA-BAKUGOU!?" Kaminari yells, choking on his own spit. "IT'S _BAKUGOU_?!"

Izuku slapped a hand over his mouth.

_I DID IT AGAIN!_

"WHO THE FUCK IS SHOUTING MY NAME!?"

_KACCHAN! _

Kaminari's eyes widened with alarm as Izuku slapped another hand over his mouth, muffling a high pitched scream. Spiky, blonde hair soon came into view over the sloped road and caused Izuku to flush considerably because,

_One_-The sound of Kacchan's laughter was still fresh in his mind, as was the toothy smile he sent his way, the _dimple_ that appeared with it, the feeling of Kacchan's _hands _in his own, his _lips _on his cheek_\- Urghh! Stop it. __**STOP IT. **__It was all PLATONIC, he DOES NOT like me like that, stop being delusional!_

"He-hey Bakugou!" Denki says, turning around.

Oh, and _two_-KAMINARI KNOWS!

_What if he tells Kacchan?!_

"Pikachu? Ah, I should've known that dying donkey bray of my name could've only come from you." Bakugou said, coming closer.

"Okay, _rude-_"

"_Deku?_ Hey, what's wrong?" Katsuki asked, completely ignoring Kaminari as he noticed his childhood friend crouched on the ground. "Why do you look like you're gonna throw up?"

Izuku responded by squeezing his palms tighter against his mouth; he didn't trust himself to _not_ say anything stupid, given what's happened beforehand. It didn't help that Katsuki leaned down to his level and put a hand on his shoulder, staring _right at him_.

Kaminari watched the scene with bewilderment; this was the first time he saw Bakugou _care _about someone else, and for that person to be Midoriya of all people-it was unexpected to say the least.

_Geez, I guess a lot changed over the break… _He thought as he observed his classmates' interactions.

Midoriya seemed to be very interested by his shoes right now-he was the same color as them too-while Bakugou's sole attention was focused on the smaller boy in front of him, his eyes scanned all over the others' face for clues on what ailed him and again-Bakugou, just showing concern, _that_ by itself is _bizarre_...but, there was _another emotion_ lurking behind those red eyes that went _beyond _mere concern….

Kaminari sighed and put his thoughts to the side for now, he needed to get some space between them before Midoriya overheated.

"Umm Bakugou?" Kaminari began, "I wouldn't stand too close to him if I were you man. Midoriya was just telling me he wasn't feeling too well, he probably caught the corona-or uhh, cold. He probably caught a cold."

Izuku perked up at the statement and nodded vigorously, puffing his cheeks out like he was about to hurl for added effects.

Bakugou's demeanor did an immediate u-turn, "_Oh my god_, is that why you were acting weird earlier!? If you didn't feel good, you should've just said so! _Fuck,_ you _always_ keep things to yourself..." He grumbled angrily.

"Hey, don't be so hard on him Bakugou, he's sick! You should be treating him to a nice, hot meal, not _yelling at him._" Denki admonished, then he remembered, "In fact! The shop over there sells _amazing_ ramen, you should buy some for Midoriya!"

Katsuki glared at the dainty ramen shop by the booths before glancing at Izuku, who looked like he'd pass out any minute. He turned his attention back to Denki and huffed, "_Fine_. Better not be shit ramen."

"Hahaha, oh I can assure you it's not! The quality is just _exquisite_, trust me, the subtle nuances of food are my area of exper-oh, he's leaving."

Izuku giggled quietly at Kaminari's crestfallen face. Afterwards he says,

"Thank you Kaminari. I don't know why but I was worried you would tell Kacchan about...well, you know…." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I freaked out over nothing…"

"Whaaaat? Dude, no way I'd do that. Not to you anyway; if it was someone like Sero or Kirishima, then yeah, I'd tell the _whole class _who they _liked._" Denki grinned mischievously at the thought of exposing his friends in such a way. Izuku smiled uneasily.

"But don't worry Midoriya, your secret's safe with me." Kaminari promised. His face then took on a serious expression, "You should definitely ask Bakugou how he feels though. I don't think it's _impossible _that he likes you back."

Izuku opened his mouth, undoubtedly about to deny it-so Kaminari spoke again,

"_After all_, it's better to know than to always wonder '_what if'_, right?"

* * *

"ACHOOOOOO!"

It turns out Izuku actually _did_ catch a cold.

"Ughhh…" He groaned as his head fell back against the couch's armrest; even _sneezing _took a lot out of him. He pulled the covers tighter around himself, shaking from the cold yet sweating at the same time.

"Izuku-kun? What're you doing on the couch?" Mitsuki asked as she descended down the stairs, buttoning her blazer.

The green haired boy raised his head and mustered a weak smile. "Ah, I caught a cold aunty….I didn't want Kacchan to get sick too so I slept here last night."

Mitsuki snorted. "Hah, that's very thoughtful of you but lemme tell ya, that brat-" she paused to put on her coat. "-doesn't get sick. _Ever_. I don't know why, everyone gets sick sometimes but _not him _apparently."

_Why does she say that like it's a bad thing...? _Izuku sweatdropped.

"The fuck? You want me to catch the flu or something?" Bakugou scowled from the upper floor. He probably just woke up, judging from the bedhead and lazy posture. "Some mother you are." He scoffed.

"Well it wouldn't have hurt to catch a break once in a while when you were a little demon spawn! You were always running around causing some kind of trouble, in fact, you still are! When the hell will you grow up?" She berated him.

"_Shut up_, it's too fucking early for lectures, go to work already."

"It's _never_ too early for lectures. But I _am_ running late so you're spared _for now_." Mitsuki said as she put on her heels. "Take care of Izuku, Katsuki! There's lentil soup in the fridge and tylenol in the cabinets, if you need to pick up more medicine there's money in my drawer, search the one on the left okay? _Shit_, I gotta go, bye boys!"

"Bye aunty!"

"Later Hag."

The door closed shut with an ominous click, leaving a thick tension behind as the two teenagers were left alone. Izuku's eyes flitted from Katsuki's form, making his way down the steps and gulped, feeling nervous for no reason in particular.

'_It's not impossible he likes you back.' _Kaminari's words rang through his head.

"Oi, get up Deku." Bakugou commanded as he stood in front of him, "The couch's uncomfy as hell, you can rest in my bed for today."

Izuku was slightly taken aback by the offer, Kacchan never let people use his stuff if he could help it. "Th-thanks Kacchan, but it's okay! I don't want to spread any germs in your room-"

"Didn't you hear the hag? My immune system's a _fort_. If anything, your germs will _**die **__in my room_."

"Even so, I don't wanna risk it."

"You doubt me?"

"No, I'm just comfortable where I am is all."

"Yeah right, come on."

"Really! It's okay, the springs aren't even _that _out of place-_eep!_" Izuku yelped as the blonde suddenly picked him up and carried him bridal style towards the stairs. His entire body flushed as Kacchan gripped his _bare thighs_, having worn shorts to sleep.

"K-Kacchan! Put me do-down!" Izuku stammered, pushing a hand against his chin and kicking his knees into his abdomen, both of which were ineffective with how weak he felt physically and _mentally_.

"_I will_, when we're in my room-quit struggling already!" Bakugou tightened his hold so that Izuku wouldn't cause them both to fall off the staircase.

Izuku flinched as Katsuki brushed against a bundle of nerves on his inner thigh, his leg shot up violently and he quickly buried his bright red face into the others' neck out of reflex, ears _burning _with embarrassment as he held in a strangled whimper.

Bakugou looked down at the twitching boy in confusement. Confusement soon diverted into realization however, and his lips slowly spread out into a sly grin.

"_Damn,_ someone's a bit _sensitive, huh?_" Katsuki said teasingly as he pinched the pale skin.

"Mphm!" Izuku buried himself deeper into his neck and bought one hand came up to cover his mouth as the other clenched a fistful of Katsuki's shirt.

Something in the blondes' stomach stirred as he felt the curved nose dig into his collarbone and he wondered, what other noises could he coax out of the teen and-_**nooooope.**_ _No no no, he was NOT going down that train of thoughts, NOPE._

Katsuki willed his blush to go down as he kicked open the door and unceremoniously tossed Izuku onto his bed.

"Ow! Can you be a bit more gentle next time?" Izuku complained as his head bumped the bedpost.

Katsuki ignored the unintentional innuendo and rummaged through his drawers for a thermometer. He finally found one and stuck it in the others' half-open mouth, who didn't appreciate the sudden nature of the action but complied nonetheless. A minute later, the thermometer was pulled out and read,

"101 degrees. Not too bad." Katsuki stated, "Get some more rest while I make a fresh batch of soup, who knows how long the hags' just been sitting in the fridge."

Izuku immediately sat up, a polite response already tumbling out, "Ah! Kacchan you really don't have to-!"

"Don't test me nerd." He warned from the doorway.

_How am I-? _

The door slammed shut, leaving Izuku by himself. He sighed exasperatedly. He was too tired to make sense of Kacchan's logic. He laid down on the mattress and was instantly relaxed by the softness of it, it was _amazing _after almost two weeks of sleeping on the floor...

_It's like I'm on a cloud…. _He thought as he snuggled into the fluffy pillow. Kacchan's scent lingered on the pillow and Izuku took a deep breath.

_Kacchan's so nice sometimes..._He thought with a yawn, _I can't remember the last time someone took care of me when I was sick...actually, I can't remember the last time I was sick… _

Darkness filled Izuku's vision, his breathing slowed down into steady puffs of air until he was fast asleep.

* * *

_It was hot. _

_Extremely hot._

_He blearily blinked open his eyes and saw a familiar ceiling. How can a plain white ceiling be familiar? Izuku doesn't know, but he's sure that this is his room despite having a complete lack of All Might merchandise. In fact, his bedroom was oddly empty, the only decoration being a plastic model of a rocket and a moon dangling over him. The cheap decor shook as loud footsteps stomped about, shadows of vague figures moved in the dim, hallway light._

"_Honey wait!" The smaller figure shouted, "He has a fever! He didn't mean to-"_

"_I don't give a damn! A boy his age should know better than to barf over the carpet!"_

_That voice. That was his mother screaming. _

_Dread pooled in Izuku's stomach. Who was the other voice she was yelling at?_

"_He's only three! He wouldn't know that-AHH!" Inko's scream tore through the air as she was backhanded. _

"_He's ALREADY THREE! IT'S ABOUT TIME HE LEARNS MANNERS!" The furious voice roared. The hallway light suddenly went out and the room was pitch black. Out of nowhere, fingers latched around Izuku's neck._

"_HISASHI DON'T!"_

_It was too late._

Izuku jolted awake, panting and out of breath. His heart hammered and he was drenched in sweat, he could still feel invisible hands around his neck.

Midoriya knew it was a dream but, _it felt so realistic._

_D-Did that really happen?_

Bakugou came in with a bowl of soup, "It's still hot so don't-"

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Izuku, grasping his neck with tears streaming down his cheeks. He placed the bowl down on a desk and rushed to his side.

"Deku, hey, look at me. What happened? Why're you crying?" He asked, tilting his chin up and wiping his tears, it was a pointless endeavor though as they just kept on pouring out.

Izuku finally looked up at Katsuki, wide eyed with fear-as if he's just seen a ghost. The blonde could literally feel his heart breaking into pieces as he faintly whispered, "K-Kacchan…m-my dad...he…ch-_chok-_"

More tears spilled out and the freckled teen couldn't stop the ugly sob that erupted from his throat. Strong arms soon wrapped around him and enveloped him into a hug,

"It was just a dream Deku. He's working abroad, remember? You're fine, _he's fine_, everything's okay." Katsuki spoke gently as he rubbed the other's back comfortingly. The soothing circles seemed to have calmed him down a bit as his tears slowed down ever so slightly.

_Right… _Izuku sniffled and nodded shakily, _Mom always told me stories about what a loving father he was, that couldn't have been real… _He thought to himself.

Gingerly, he hugged Katsuki back and they stayed like that for a while...

Izuku gradually inhaled and exhaled, trying to gain control of his breathing while Kacchan gave gentle, reassuring pats, unconsciously tightening their embrace. After the green haired boy had calmed down completely, he grew slightly flustered from the close proximity.

"Kacchan…?" He murmured into his shoulder.

"Hm?"

His heart sped up again as he felt the hum vibrate in his ear,

"...I...um…"

He gulped, suddenly feeling the urge to tell Kacchan just how _grateful_ he was, how much _he meant to him,_ how he's always, _always_ meant the _world _to him. He wanted to tell him _everything, he wanted to tell him-_

_I love you_

But the words got stuck in his throat.

"Thank you…" He said instead.

"...No problem."

**Hey! So what do you guys think? Do you believe the conspiracy theories about Izuku's dad being a villain? Tell me your thoughts below and thank you for reading! Hopefully the corona virus doesn't get me before I finish this story, I am legitimately terrified of how fast it's spreading :(**

**Stay safe guys! Wash your hands and eat plenty of citrus!**


	11. Chapter 11

The soup on the desk has lost its heat by now, but the same couldn't be said for Midoriya's face.

"-probably the first time I saw your mom mad, god, I almost felt bad for you." Bakugou snickered quietly.

"Y-You s-should've!" The smaller boy stuttered, beet red as he felt the other's chest rise with the exhale, "It was your f-fault the window b-broke anyway!"

They've been reminiscing over childhood memories for the past hour now, Izuku doesn't know _how_ the conversation started-or _how they ended up in this position,_ with him snuggled into Katsuki's side while the blonde slung a protective arm around his shoulders-what he does know was that _this_ was not good for his heart. _At all. _The change of topic had been nice at first; it distracted him from the unsettling nightmare he had, but now he was _way _more distracted by the husky breath in his ear to actually focus on the words being said.

"You're the one who wanted to see how far I could throw." Katsuki rebutted, a fond smile forming on his handsome features, "Don't act like you were completely innocent _Deku_."

Izuku gulped, his thoughts were far from innocent as he felt the hold on his shoulder tighten. Warmth bloomed throughout his body and he pressed further into his crush to hide the furious blush on his cheeks.

_This is strange… _He thought to himself.

The usually explosive teen was treating him so _delicately_, like he was made out of glass or paper. The kind, gentle touches, the soothing tone...it was odd. Kacchan could be sweet at times but never to this degree, never to this level of caring, open, _tenderness._ It almost felt...

...intimate.

_B-BUT THAT'S NOT IT! _The green haired boy reasoned with himself. _He's just being a good friend and comforting me after my nightmare-! _

"You okay Deku? You're shaking." Worry was clearly evident in his voice, a stark difference from the usual '_just beneath the surface concern'. _It left Izuku stammering,

"Y-yeah! I'm okay, j-just a b-bit cold..."

Bakugou scoffed, "You're a terrible liar." He shifted in his seat to see the other better.

"Something's obviously bothering you, what is it?"

Izuku turned his head to the side. His gaze landed on an All Might figurine he'd bought that somehow ended up on Katsuki's night table.

_Well let's see-I have a fever, I'm still not sure whether that was a nightmare or a repressed memory, and a little more than an hour ago I realized my feelings for you run wayyy deeper than a simple crush and there's no way those feelings are requited._

But instead of saying all that, he responded with a clipped, "I'm fine. Just tired."

The muted vibrations of the radiator in the hallway were suddenly very clear. Soft whirs of generating heat filled the quiet, vapors seeped under the door and into the bedroom, creating a stuffy humidness in the air.

"...You can talk to me Deku." Katsuki finally said in a hushed whisper. "I promise I won't get mad."

Izuku clamped his eyes shut, heart thumping hard against his chest. _There it was again._ That _misleading care_. It was messing with his brain, feeding him false hope.

'_It's not impossible he likes you back.' _

Yeah right.

_What gave Kaminari that idea? Kacchan could never feel the same._ He frowned sourly, about to dismiss the opinion when Todoroki's words sprang to mind.

_'You should tell him how you feel.' The solemn boy said as they climbed the mountain._

Then Kirishima's.

'_Don't sweat it, it's probably not as hopeless as you think.' Eijiro assured after Izuku admitted to having a crush on their friend. 'I'm sure Bakugou's got a thing for curly haired, freckled guys.' The redhead winked good naturedly._

Izuku blinked. It just occurred to him that three of his classmates _knew_ about his crush and _didn't_ think it was futile, in fact, they thought it was _plausible_ and actually _encouraged_ him to go after Kacchan.

_If Kaminari and Kirishima-two of his closest friends-think I_ _have a chance, then...could it possibly be true? Could Kacchan maybe...perhaps...like me back? _He wondered, the tiniest bit of hope beginning to bubble within him.

'_It's better to know than to always wonder 'what if', right?'_

"Deku?" Bakugou called out, bringing him back to the present.

With a spike of determination, he swiftly turned towards the blonde. He flinched momentarily when he found Kacchan's face only centimeters away, but immediately gained his courage back when he noticed the other struggled to keep eye contact too.

'_You should definitely ask Bakugou how he feels.'_

"Kacchan, what do I mean to you?"

* * *

Katsuki was caught off guard.

He had been for a while now, ever since he came back into his room and found Deku crying, he's been at a total loss for what to do. He's acted mostly on instinct up until now, hugging the boy, pulling him close, talking about calming memories, anything to keep that god awful expression off his face.

He hadn't been thinking about how much his actions actually gave away.

_DAMN IT! What the hell was I thinking!? Of course Deku would realize from all that! _He thought with rapidly pinkening cheeks. _Shit shit shit what do I say?_

His mouth opened but nothing came out. Luckily he was saved by Izuku, who grew anxious from the lack of response.

"I mean like-! I'm just wondering! First we were childhood friends, then we...weren't. Then we became rivals, and then friends again! And now…" Izuku hesitated, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"...We're still friends but, sometimes…" He trailed off uncertainly.

Katsuki watched the nervous face in front of him.

_Maybe Deku hasn't figured it out…well that's good. _He almost let out an audible sigh, glad his newly discovered feelings weren't found out so soon. He considered the question asked after his relief subsided.

'_Kacchan, what do I mean to you?'_

The blonde furrowed his eyebrows in thought. He didn't wanna label them as friends_-_Kirishima was a friend, Kamanari was a friend, Deku wasn't as low down on Katsuki's list as those two losers. Deku was...special.

_Obviously. _Katsuki wanted to roll his eyes at the fluttering in his stomach.

The freckled boy had been with him through everything, good times, bad times, the _worst of times..._no matter how much their relationship's changed throughout the years, Deku's always stayed the same. Patient, kind, understanding...right by his side. That's because he was...

"...You're Deku."

"Huh?"

"You're Deku to me."

"Oh." Izuku frowned at that, like that wasn't what he wanted to hear. Katsuki quickly clarified,

"Not useless Deku!" He said hastily, moving away so that they sat facing each other. "Or round face's version of Deku, or your hero name Deku or _whatever._ You're just…." He stopped and gestured a hand in the air, hoping Izuku would get it.

Green eyes looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish.

_Guess not. _Bakugou internally groaned. His cheeks burned as he looked away and murmured,

"You're _my Deku._"

…..

…..

"_Eh!? I'm-what?! You can't just-!" _Izuku squeaked, high pitched and flustered. The sound almost made Katsuki feel proud of himself, except he was _just as embarrassed at the moment. _

"That doesn't answer my question! You can't just say I'm '_yours'_-"

"Why not? You basically called me yours a while ago. Remember '_give Kacchan back'_?"

"T-that was different!" Izuku spluttered, incredibly red now, "You were being kidnapped! I wasn't thinking about _phrasing-_"

"I'm not saying I own you or anything," Katsuki interrupted, "You asked me what you mean to me and that's it. You're my Deku."

_My first friend. Rival. Crush. _

"That-that still doesn't.."

Bakugou poked his forehead, pushing Izuku's downcast face up until he was forced to look at him.

"Don't think too hard about it 'kay? You're my Deku and I'm Kacchan to no one else but _you, _got that nerd?" Katsuki asked, a confident smile in place this time.

Izuku was sent into orbit by the last sentence, higher than Uraraka's quirk could ever take him. _Did Kacchan just say he belongs to me? _He wondered fuzzily, mind clouded by the rush of dopamine. _What does he mean by that though? Are we friends? More than friends?_

There were an endless amount of ways that could be interpreted. However, despite the vagueness of it all, Izuku thinks he somewhat understood. A small smile subconsciously made its way to his lips.

"There's no other way to define us really." Katsuki added, feeling a weight off his shoulders now that _his Deku_ seemed happy again.

Izuku beamed at _his Kacchan._

"Yeah, that's true." He agreed in a daze.

He might not be sure exactly where he stood with the blonde, but one thing was for sure.

_They weren't leaving each other anytime soon._

* * *

Mitsuki arrived home at twelve o' clock that night, jiggling her keys softly so as to not disturb anyone sleeping.

It turns out she didn't need to worry about that.

In the dark of the living room, she spotted her son and Inko's on the couch, faces only visible from the dim glow of the television. She doesn't know _why_ they even bothered to turn it on though, seeing as they were completely ignoring the movie being played.

"Whaaat? No way Todoroki did that!"

"I shit you not, he _legit blew up_ the restaurant's _trash can_ when you and Kirishima were in the bathroom!" Katsuki howled with laughter, gasping in between breaths, "He said-he thought-it was his dad!"

"Oh my god!" Izuku giggled uncontrollably.

Mitsuki crossed her arms and leaned against the wall that separated the living room from the entryway of the house. Normally she would've yelled at them to go to bed and turn off the TV if they weren't using it-_their electric bills were high enough dammit!_-but she found she didn't have it in her at that moment. She actually felt a rare pang of motherly affection as she watched the two boys, wrapped around a blanket and laughing carelessly about random events, just like they did as children.

"And you know what else?" Katsuki asked, the crevasses of his dimples illuminated by the blue light-_jesus_ when was the last time he smiled? Fuck did that make her nostalgic.

"What?"

She watched as her son leaned over and whispered something in the others' ear, making him laugh loudly. She took in the way Katsuki's eyes lit up at the sight, looking at Izuku like he was the most precious thing on this planet.

It was then she realized.

_Ha, who would've thought the brat would fall for sweet little Izuku?_ She smirked.

It didn't surprise her really, she saw how possessive he was of him when they were kids, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Yet she couldn't help the sense of pride swelling up in her. She smiled at the expression on her sons' face; it was the same look she gave her husband when they first started dating.

Her baby was growing up.

She left the corridor then, going up the stairs. As much as she would _love_ to pry in and maybe _secretly record them for future blackmail_-she knew that was wrong and so forced herself away. Before she went to bed though, she wondered,

_Did Masaru give him the talk?_

Well. That was a conversation for another day...

**My headcanon is that "Deku" means _first_ or _my number one priority_ to Katsuki :) **

**I just wanna apologize for this late chapter, somehow I'm even more busy in quarantine -.- ****And I also wanna thank you guys for all your wonderful reviews! It honestly makes my day when I see such nice comments about my work, which speaking of, I've published 2 short fics a while ago-_Datte Atashi No Hero_ and_ The Disastrous Life of Bakugou K._, a lot of u have read them already but I'm just letting the rest know in case u wanna read more of my writing but don't wanna wait forever for another update :P (I'm really, really sorry) I'll try my best to get it up in under a month**

**Edit-NEW FANFIC-_The Talk_, now available to read on my profile page :D**


	12. Chapter 12

"AND THE KARASUNO CROWS SCORE!"

"WHOOOO!"

The crowd goes wild, half the arena erupting in cheers while the other half groans in defeat. Thankfully, Bakugou and Midoriya were on the cheering side.

"FUCK YEAH!" Katsuki stands up and pumps his fist in the air.

Izuku is sitting beside him and clapping politely. He's not a big fan of ice hockey and is therefore not too invested in either team, so he decided to just root for whichever team Kacchan supported-which happened to be the one that was currently winning.

"Rooolling THUNDER!" Karasuno's defense cried out, shooting the puck straight away from their net and onto an offensive player on the Nekoma Cats side.

_He sounds a lot like Kacchan._ Izuku notes.

"HELL YEAH! FUCKING KILL THEM!"

…_A more tame Kacchan. _He corrects himself. He feels a tug on his wrist just moments after the thought.

"C'mon Deku, you're supposed to shout with me." Katsuki says, pulling him up by the hand.

"Oh, um-" Izuku fumbles for a moment before cupping his other hand around his mouth.

"W-WHOO! YEAH! GO KARA-Kara, Karauno?"

Katsuki laughs and Izuku melts.

"Close enough." He says fondly before raising their interlocked fingers in the air.

Izuku smiles through the furious blush on his face. He wasn't a big ice hockey fan, but he was beyond elated to just be here with Kacchan. The teen had somehow won premium tickets through a radio contest and _insisted _that Deku went with him.

_It kinda feels like a date… _The freckled boy thought, gripping the collar of his jersey-a matching set with the blonde beside him.

A middle aged man from the row below them suddenly turned around and glared at them, specifically at Bakugou.

"Hey asshole, ya wanna pipe down? I'm getting sick of your obnoxious yells."

"The fuck?" Katsuki scowls, "Everyone's yelling in here old man, it's what you do at a _sports tournament._"

"Well none of 'em are screamin' right into_ my ears._"

"I'm nowhere near your ears, how you gonna say that when your_ fucking toupe_ is level to _my balls_?"

"Kacchan, settle down." Izuku lightly squeezes his hand, not wanting to start a fight. Katsuki wasn't having it though.

"No, there's literally hundreds of people doing the same in here, what the hell is he singling me out for?"

"_Oh my god._" The man snorted out a vicious, _spiteful _little laugh.

"He calls you _Kacchan_? **Jesus Christ,** you two are even bigger **fags** then I thought."

Izuku tensed while Bakugou's eyes narrowed.

"**What,** did you just call us?"

"You heard me _faggot._"

The people around them were quickly scattering out of their seats as Katsuki lunged forward and tackled the homophobic man. He held a sparking hand to the homophobe's face, just inches away from making contact. Someone in the distance called for the guards.

"_**You wanna repeat that again?" **_

"Pfft, what are you talking about? All I did was kindly ask you to quiet down and you attacked me, a 40 year old man with no offensive quirk." He smirked. "_Gosh_, kids these days. Think they can do whatever they like just because they have quirks like-what is that? _Explosions_? HA! How perfect for a _flaming queer_."

Bakugou's fingers clenched into a fist but remained where they were. He gritted his teeth, _beyond pissed_ and _frustrated_ since he knew he couldn't do anything to a civilian-no matter how much of a _despicable human being they were. _God, how he wanted to pound that smug expression off him. Red eyes glared daggers at the ugly face before noticing the lopsided mess of "hair" sliding off his head.

He grabbed the cheap wig and set it aflame.

"AHHHHHH!" The man covered his bald head and screamed, "YOU BRAT! THAT COSTS MORE THAN MY RENT!"

Bakugou only cackled and tossed the ashes in his face, "Christ, you must live in a dump. How perfect for _trash like you._"

"Kacchan," Izuku shook his shoulder frantically, "We gotta go. Now."

Katsuki glanced up and saw a tall muscular man with 'security' labeled on his hat, headed right their way.

"Aw shit."

"YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The wonder duo hightailed it out of there while the bald man cried over his lost hair.

* * *

The two ran down an empty hallway, security guard hot on their trail, when they rounded a corner and spotted an open janitor's closet. They went inside and swiftly closed the door. Footsteps soon ran past them and into the void.

Katsuki snickered, "What a moron."

"Kacchan that's not nice, he's just trying to do his job."

"And failing at it."

Izuku sighed, not really feeling up to chastising the other right now. "Whatever. Let's go before we miss the rest of the match."

He twisted the doorknob. It wouldn't turn.

...Why was he getting a strange feeling of déjà vu right now?

He jerked the knob a couple more times, each more violent than the last.

"Door's locked?" Bakugou asked.

"Yup."

"Ok, what genius thought to make doors lock from the outside? Fucking ridiculous."

"Ughh. Great." Izuku groaned, sliding down to the floor, "No one's gonna come down this hallway until the game's over, and that's _at least _an hour later."

"Might be sooner." Katsuki mimics Izuku's moves, taking a seat beside a shelf of cleaning supplies.

"Public bathrooms are a mess so the janitor will probably find us in like, ten minutes." He says, eyeing the rolls of toilet paper next to him.

"Yeah, I guess." Midoriya agreed. The situation really sucked though. Kacchan had been so excited for this match and now they couldn't even see the end of it, all because of a random asshole.

_How are people still homophobic these days?_ _It's the 21st century for god's sake, I thought we got over that in the 90's? _The green haired boy frowned. However, despite the horrible exchange that took place, it made him consider something he's never put much thought into before,

_Is Kacchan even interested in guys? _

_…._

"Why do you look so glum all of a sudden?"

Izuku straightened and shot an uneasy smile at the blonde, "Oh, no reason. I was just thinking, it's a bummer you have to miss out on the match."

Katsuki shrugged, "I don't really care as long as you're with me."

The green haired boy turned red and looked away. Katsuki smirked, a familiar feeling of pride settling into his stomach. The cocky smirk slowly faded away into a softer look as he watched the adorable teen fiddle with the fabric of his jersey.

Bakugou has been having a lot of trouble with his feelings over the last few days. As he spent more time with Izuku, he found it increasingly harder to resist those freckles. When he first discovered his crush on Deku, he was determined to just forget about it-_Deku deserves a lot better, not an asshole like me_-but how the fuck could he move on now, when he has so many happy memories ingrained in his head?

And some not so great ones…

Katsuki's heart ached in his chest as he remembered how the other had held onto him after his nightmare, how scared and vulnerable he looked...there was no way he could just push Deku away over a silly little crush after _that. _Yet_-_this crush might not be so _silly_ or _little_ later on if he kept this up. It already felt like he was falling too deep.

That's why he's come to a resolution.

He wouldn't hurt Deku by avoiding him, but he wouldn't let himself get _too_ close either. Katsuki will stay as a good, loyal friend. Mayyyybe he'll jokingly flirt with him once in a while to satiate his unhealthy need to see Deku's cute flustered face-_but that's it!_ Nothing more than that. He'll _never _cross the line into relationship territory.

Izuku coughed and spoke up, "What do you wanna do while we wait?"

"What the hell can we do in here?"

"Hmm, maybe we can play a game. Any suggestions?"

The blonde grins devilishly, "Seven minutes in Heaven?"

He really couldn't resist.

"Wha-NO! Kacchan be serious." Izuku squeaks out, nervously pulling at his clothes.

_Adorable ass shitnerd._

"Ok fine. What about 20 questions?"

"Oh, like we played in All Might's class!"

Katsuki nodded.

They briefly played the game at the beginning of the school year as a way to get to know each other and build camaraderie; Bakugou didn't remember a damn thing his classmates said but he remembers Izuku's answers for some reason.

_My favorite color's red!_

_My favorite food's Katsudon!_

As useful as that info was, maybe he can learn some more personal facts about Deku this time…

"Okay, I'll start! Um…" Izuku looked up in thought.

"What's your favorite show?"

"Boring."

"Ah, I've never heard of that-"

"_No_. Your question is boring. Ask something else."

Midoriya pouted, "I thought it was interesting…" He murmured to himself. "Ok, umm...if you could have any quirk in the world, what would it be?"

"That one's just dumb. Mine obviously."

Izuku rolled his eyes. "How about you show me what a _smart _and _interesting _question would be then?"

Bakugou leaned back into a more comfortable position, knees pulled up to his chest and arms draped atop them, "Alright. What's something you've never told anyone before?"

"All Might gave me his powe-"

"NO. I already know that-"

"I never _told_ you though."

"...Fucking technicalities, fine! Your turn! Ask an interesting question like that..." Katsuki grumbled angrily, annoyed since he _really_ wanted to know something _new_ about the other.

Izuku stayed silent for a while, thinking about what types of questions he could ask. Green eyes lit up when he thought of one, but….he wasn't sure how Kacchan would react to such a question...

_He did just try to make me reveal my deepest darkest secret, is it really so bad if I ask..?_

A shiver ran down his spine and he rubbed his arms up and down to ward off the creeping cold. He gnawed on his bottom lip, contemplating the pros and cons.

Pro: He'd finally get an answer, after_ years_ of curiosity.

Con: Kacchan would most likely explodo-murder him.

"Just spit it out Deku. You can ask me anything, I don't care."

_Welp, here goes nothing. _

He took a deep breathe before asking,

"Isthereanyoneyoulike?"

.

.

.

Bakugou blinked owlishly. He stared at Izuku for what seemed like forever.

Then, he bashfully averted his gaze and nodded, a subtle pink in his cheeks.

Izuku's eyes grew wide and his heart skipped _several_ beats. This was _not_ what he expected at all.

_Kacchan's blushing. He likes someone. He admitted it._

"Who-"

"Not saying. And anyway it's my turn."

Izuku opened his mouth to protest but decided against it. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself and curled into a ball. Red eyes trailed over his trembling frame.

"Are you cold?" Katsuki asked, surprising the other with his observation.

"That's not a very _interesting_ question." Midoriya replied, half joking half avoiding.

"You're right Deku. Maybe a better question would be WHY THE FUCK AREN'T YOU WEARING LONG SLEEVES!? YOU JUST GOT OVER A COLD!"

"I w-was going to! But a sweater felt too warm to wear!"

"Really? Where'd you figure that? At my house? With the heater on?"

"...Four questions in a row is not allowed."

Bakugou glared daggers.

_If looks could kill... _

"You're such a dumbass. Shut up and c'mere." Katsuki grunted, gesturing in a come hither motion. Izuku tilted his head in confusion, he looked at Kacchan's right side, then his left; each were occupied by stacks of toilet paper and bottles of lysol.

"Where?"

Katsuki parted his legs and patted the empty spot in between.

"Here. I'll warm you up."

"..."

"..."

"What're you-why-oh. OH. **NO!** ARE YOU CRAZY!?" Izuku practically screeches as he gets the wrong idea in his head.

"GET YOUR MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER, I'M NOT GONNA DO ANYTHING WEIRD!" Katsuki yelled at his assumption. He then goes on to explain, "My body's naturally-or _unnaturally_ warm 'cause of my quirk, the closer you are the less cold you'll be, _obviously._ Jeez, you'd think your over-sized nerd brain would get that but _apparently not._"

"Oh." Izuku says, dumbfounded.

_That's still...too much.. _He thought in embarrassment, butterflies swirling in his stomach.

"Get over here already." Bakugou demanded.

The freckled boy hesitated before slowly crawling towards the other. He carefully took a seat in between his crush's knees, keeping his own limbs as close to himself as possible as he tried his best to not make contact with Katsuki's legs or chest. Bakugou rolled his eyes at the cautious behavior and abruptly pulled him back by the midsection, earning a flustered squeak from the other.

"Better now?" The blonde asked, warm _covered_ arms wrapped around his exposed ones.

Izuku focused his gaze on Kacchan's black sleeves and nodded, heart hammering wildly in his chest.

"Good."

They both fell silent then, unsure of what else to say next.

The smaller teen fidgeted slightly in his seat before he worked up the courage to whisper, _"...K-Kacchan?"_

"...Yeah Deku?" He lowered his voice to match his volume, for some reason that set Izuku's nerves even_ more_ aflame.

"The p-person you_ l-like..._" He stammered, pausing in between breathes.

"Is it a _s-she...or he?_"

"_...He._" The blonde quietly responded.

Izuku's face lit up into a burning red, hyper aware of the arms tightening around him.

"Is it-"

"No guessing allowed."

"..Okay."

Slowly,

Ever so slowly,

He bought a hand up to grip Katsuki's forearm.

"It's the s-same for me..." He shakily admits.

He felt Katsuki's head turn then and he could just imagine the puzzled look on the other's features, trying to decipher the meaning behind his words. He figures Kacchan more or less understood though since Izuku could _feel_ his heart speed up against his back.

An overwhelming amount of anxiety and _hope_ filled each of them.

"Deku-"

The door suddenly slammed open.

"I can't believe the nerve of that janitor, telling me to restock the woman's bathroom myself, what's his job for th-Deku?" Uraraka stopped mid step, fairly confused. Iida stood in tow behind her, adjusting his glasses.

"What are you doing in here, and whose that behind y-OH MY GOD!"

"MIDORIYA! THE JANITOR'S CLOSET IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE PLACE FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES-!"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT-!"

**Hope u guys enjoyed this chapter ;)  
****New stories-_The_ T_alk, _**_**Is Kissing the Homies Gay,**_** and **_**Moonlight**_**. Last story is rated M but it's mild compared to other M works.  
****Until next time, Ciao!**


	13. Chapter 13

"Right?! And then their defense just went flying like _whooosh _and I was like _ahhhh!_" Ochako squealed and made a 'mind blown' gesture with her hands, half eaten food left forgotten as she rambled excitedly about the match.

Bakugou smirked, "Yeah, that's why Karasuno's gonna go to Nationals. Those Nekoma shits suck ass."

"Speaking of their defense, doesn't he sound like Kacchan?" Izuku spoke up.

"_Haaah?_ He sounds nothing like me-"

"YES! I knew he sounded familiar! And their setter is definitely Iida's long lost twin! Voice wise that is-"

"He most certainly is not, my tone is much calmer than that delinquent's." Iida huffed.

"I wouldn't say that four eyes." Bakugou grunted, remembering how the other had yelled at him the first time they met.

Uraraka giggled and agreed, "Yeah, you're not exactly the calmest Iida."

"How dare you! I'll have you know that I took seven years of etiquette classes and my teacher has always told me I have quite an eloquent way of speaking! In fact, she was so enamored with my dialect that she made me recite Shakespeare to her grandson! The child was absolutely thrilled-"

Izuku smiled and rested his cheek against his hand, thoughts drifting as Kacchan and Uraraka poked fun at Iida's rant. The green haired boy felt extremely...light, at the moment.

The first few minutes of his unexpected reunion with his friends were _excruciatingly_ awkward, but after they cleared up what happened (or some of what happened, Izuku could tell they still had questions) the two decided to ignore the little incident and invited Izuku and Katsuki to eat with them at the food court. The freckled teen was a bit reluctant, thinking Kacchan wouldn't get along very well with them but, surprisingly…

Emerald eyes glistened at the sight.

Uraraka was talking with her mouth full, saying something that caused Iida to look scandalized and Katsuki to snort in amusement. The blonde then replied with a comment of his own that had Ochako choking in laughter and Tenya rushing to her side to perform the (completely unnecessary) Heimlich maneuver; the brunette only laughed harder.

It was a strange scene, the three vastly different personalities gathered together at a rinky dink ice hockey cafe.

But it made Izuku happy.

Katsuki shook his empty soda cup before setting it down on the table, "I gotta take a piss. Where's the fucking bathroom?"

"Over there." Uraraka answered, "Make sure to grab toilet paper from that closet you and Deku were in, the janitor didn't bother to restock the girls' bathroom so the boys' bathroom is probably the same."

The teen nodded, "Thanks for the tip." and left.

As soon as Bakugou was gone, brown eyes immediately zeroed in on Midoriya.

_Uh oh._

"Dekuuuu! You finally got the courage to ask him out!? Or did he ask you out?! How long have you been dating? Must've been awhile since you two were making out in the-"

Yup. Uraraka and Iida knew about his crush. Since the first week of school actually. Another reason why he had been worried about Kacchan hanging out with them.

"F-for the last time we didn't do anything like that-!" He interrupted, shaking his head vehemently from side to side, beet red from the accusation, "We're not even dating, please keep your voice down Uraraka..."

Even Iida had _the audacity_ to look confused by this.

Ochako blinked twice, "Huh? You're not? But he brought you as his plus one and paid for your meal. That seems pretty date-y to me."

Izuku sighed heavily and ran a hand through his curls, exhausted since he honestly wasn't too sure himself. There were many hints that his feelings were reciprocated but at the same time…

"If that was the case, wouldn't you and Iida be on a date too then?"

A _suspicious pink_ covered Tenya's cheeks.

"Nah." Ochako waved her hand dismissively, "Iida accidentally bought two tickets instead of one and as you both know, I _loooove _ice hockey so Iida decided to be a good friend and gave me the extra ticket! Isn't that right?" Uraraka nudged his arm, earning a mechanical nod from the boy besides her.

"It's not like one of us has been harboring secret feelings for the other since we were _four years old._" She says pointedly.

Izuku eyes his blue haired friend and thinks, _Maybe not since four…_

"Well, regardless, Kacchan and I just became friends over the break. He might l-like me, or he might not...either way, I don't wanna push him." He says, their conversation from a few days ago popping into mind.

_'You're my Deku and I'm Kacchan to no one else but you, got that nerd?'_

As of right now, that was good enough for him.

Uraraka seemed to think otherwise though.

"But he's totally into you!" She exclaimed, "I saw the way he looks at you Deku, it's the fated love between men! You need to confess before he gets hit by a car and goes into a coma and you're left crying your heart out on his bedside, regretting what could've been!"

The two boys stared at her.

"Umm.."

"Perhaps you've been reading too much manga-"

"No I haven't Iida!...Ok maybe a little bit-but that's not the point! You need to shoot your shot before it's too late Deku!"

"'_Shoot your shot'?_" The glasses-wearing boy raised an incredulous eyebrow, "Where _in the world_ did you learn this language? Have you been speaking to Camie-"

"It's not that _easy_ Uraraka." Izuku groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "I can't just go up to him and say 'Hey Kacchan! I'm madly in love with you, please go out with me!' Not only is that creepy and out of nowhere, but we also share a room now. Can you imagine how awkward it would be if I get rejected-"

"Wait-wait, hold up. Love? Share a room?"

"...Oh, I didn't tell you."

"Deku!"

* * *

After he told Iida and Uraraka about _recent developments_, the pair nodded in understanding and quickly devised a plan against Izuku's will.

_"Ok, your mom's coming back on January 1st right? That means the perfect time to tell him would be at Mina's party, oh my god-" Ochako gasped, "You should totally go in for a New Year's kiss!"_

_"W-wait, I still need to see him at school you know-"_

"_Until then, try testing the waters by flirting. Here, I have a book on the topic." Iida whips a thick book out of his bag and drops it on the table with a thud. "Would you like to borrow it?"_

_Ochako looks him up and down, "Why were you carrying that around with you?"_

"_...Knowledge is power."_

And that's how Izuku ended up hiding '101 ways to make a heart go doki doki!' in his textbook that night, pretending to study in Kacchan's room. His childhood friend was _actually studying _at his desk, table light shining brightly on his furiously moving hand as he scribbled down notes; Izuku couldn't help but grin stupidly at the sight.

_Kacchan always calls me a nerd but he's the one studying so seriously over break._

No one would've guessed that the spikey haired blonde with anger issues was the real nerd amongst the two of them-and they couldn't be blamed for it either, Katsuki fitted the image of your typical delinquent after all.

_What would Kacchan look like as a stereotypical nerd? _Izuku wondered.

He briefly imagined the other donning a buttoned up shirt with glasses and chuckled under his breath; this garnered the attention of the delinquent looking nerd.

"What's so funny?" Bakugou turned back.

Izuku jolted in surprise as they made eye contact and fumbled with the book(s) as they slipped from his hold.

"Ah, n-nothing!" He stuttered, gripping the sides of the pages tightly.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, "You were laughing though. And staring at me."

"E-e-eh!? N-no I wasn't! W-why would I-"

"I can see you from the mirror Deku."

Green eyes shifted to the side and found a deer in headlights reflection staring back.

"...Oh."

"Dumbass." The blonde snorted, closing his textbook. He walked over to sit besides Izuku, who curled up slightly to better hide the books from his view.

"So what's up? Why were you staring at me and laughing? Think I look funny or something?" He teased.

Izuku missed the humor in his tone and panickedly replied back, "N-no I don't! I just thought of something Iida said! And I was staring at you because-because-" He couldn't think of any excuse and looked down at the book on his knees to avoid the questioning red eyes. He blinked when he noticed a certain line written in there.

_'If the object of your affection catches you looking at them, say this...'_

_Oh thank god, this is just what I needed! _Izuku thought gratefully; he hastily read off the sentence that followed:

"I think there's something wrong with my eyes because I can't take them off of you!"

…

…

...

_God is dead. _

Cue the JoJo music cuz this is a _To be Continued…._


	14. Chapter 14

Bakugou opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking slowly, deliberately,

"What..was that, Deku?"

Izuku on the other hand was in full panic mode.

"Uh-erm, what I meant was-"

His mind was in scrambles. He couldn't believe he just used a _corny pickup line_ on _Kacchan; how does he explain that!? _He desperately (dumbly) searched the page in front of him for help, hoping there was something-_anything_ that could redeem him from this.

Conveniently enough, there was.

_'If you happen to offend your significant other, say this line to make your troubles go away...'_

_That's it!_

The teen repeated the line word for word, not reading it through _yet again._

"I was feeling a bit off today but when I saw you, you turned me on!"

…

…

…

The headboard clashed noisily against the wall as Izuku's head was knocked against it. Katsuki was straddled on top of him, pinning his arms to the bed in a vice grip. The green haired boy gulped as red eyes glared menacingly down at him.

"_You making fun of me nerd?_"

"N-no! T-hat wasn't my intention!"

"_What the fuck was your intention then, hah?_" He hissed, face coming way too close to Izuku's own. Something stirred in his lower abdomen as Katsuki's breath hit his skin, something that made him want to reach up and mash their lips together until it eventually led to _something else._

But the emotion behind Katsuki's eyes stopped those feelings dead in their tracks.

"Kacchan?"

"_Don't fucking Kacchan me asshole-_"

"Why're you crying?"

It seemed like Katsuki didn't even realize it himself as his previously angered features turned into one of confusion. He blinked then, an unshed tear falling and landing squarely on Izuku's freckles.

"I-" His voice cracked and suddenly another tear was falling, and another, and another.

"Kacchan," Izuku reached up to cradle his cheek but his hand was slapped away.

"_**Don't touch me!**_" Bakugou yelled, abruptly moving back and getting space between them. His brows furrowed with anger again, but the expression was more of a mask than anything else. Tears continued to steadily fall down his cheek and with them fell Izuku's heart.

"Kacchan, what's wro-"

"DON'T fucking use THAT tone with _me,_ I don't need your fucking pity-"

"It's not pity Kacchan! I care about you, of course I would be concer-"

"YEAH I FUCKING KNOW!" Bakugou shouted, frame shaking with either anger, embarrassment or _vulnerability_.

Kacchan's voice shook as he continued, "I know-you care about me. But _why?_" He wheezed out the last word. Izuku stayed silent, figuring he didn't really expect an answer to that.

"Why?" Katsuki laughed cynically this time, "I've made your life a living hell, yet you still care about me? You still call me Kacchan and say shit like-" He cut himself off, cheeks flushing a dark red. "I just don't get it, how could you _like_ being around _me? _Somehow we're friends again and I still don't know how that happened. How the fuck can you forgive me so easily when I've never even _apologized?_ Have you forgotten all the times I've beat you up? Or how many notebooks I've burned? I don't understand-"

"Kacch-"

"I'm not done yet. I don't fucking get it but in a way, it makes sense. You were always too fucking kind for your own good and...and I-I'm grateful, that you're like that…" He trailed off, bringing his knees up to his chest for his chin to lean on. Izuku watched with pain as the ever present fire in Katsuki's eyes seemed to go out…

"I-I shouldn't be though. I don't d-deserve your kindness, or your f-friendship, much less your-" The flush on his cheeks deepened and Izuku turned into a fair shade of red himself when he realized the words that were left unspoken.

_Adoration. Affection. _

_Love._

Bakugou sighed and covered his face with his hand, "How can you even stand me..?"

"...You're not a bad person Kacchan."

Katsuki stiffened at the words. Izuku moved closer and gently held the sides of his face,

"You were a kid then Kacchan. You couldn't have known how your actions affect others then-"

"You did." Katsuki argued as the other pulled his hand away from his face.

"I just matured faster than you." Izuku stuck his tongue out playfully. If Katsuki wasn't already blushing, he would be now.

"I know you never wanted to hurt me though." Midoriya smiled easily, "After we grew up a bit, I could see how much you regretted picking on me. And you're really nice to me now so why should I hold the past against you?"

"Because it still happened _Deku-_"

"And so what? Lots of things happen in life, it's always changing and so are people."

"..."

Izuku leaned his forehead against Katsuki's, who flinched slightly from the contact. The blonde held his breath as their noses brushed together.

"It's okay Kacchan." He reassured the other, eyes closed peacefully and arms wrapped around his shoulders now.

"I forgive you, I forgave you a long time ago and you _do_ deserve compassion so don't say that you don't. You're an amazing person and you're incredibly kind too. Remember when you comforted me a few days ago? You've done that so many times in the past too, like when I found out I didn't have a quirk…" Izuku whispered, remembering that fateful summer day.

Katsuki shivered. He remembered that day as well. It seemed insignificant at the time but looking back, it was a day that determined the rest of their lives and brought them to where they are now.

And who they are now.

And everything in between.

"I'm sorry Deku." Katsuki whispered, a few more tears leaking out as he shut his eyes. A moment later, his hair was pushed out of the way and a pair of soft lips pressed against his forehead.

"Apology accepted." Izuku murmured as he pulled away. Katsuki gradually opened his eyes and they stared at each other for a bit, green to red.

"Deku, I…"

Out of the corner of his vision, he noticed a strange looking book and suddenly got distracted.

"What the hell is that?"

* * *

"BAHAHAHAHA!"

"It's not that funny Kacchan!"

"Yes it is!" Bakugou gasped, clutching his stomach, "Of course _you_ would get a book on flirting, holy shit-"

"It's not mine! Iida lended it to me!" Izuku defended himself, ears burning.

"Yeah, sure."

"It's true!"

"You still tried them though." The blonde smirked.

Izuku blinked before remembering,

'_I think there's something wrong with my eyes because I can't take them off of you!'_

'_I was feeling a bit off today but when I saw you, you turned me on!'_

"Oh my god…" He groaned, burying his face in his hands.

Katsuki snickered once more before consoling him, "It's alright. They were pretty good, swept me off my feet."

"Really?" The green haired boy wondered.

"No, what the fuck?" The blonde howled with laughter. Izuku pouted in annoyance and took the book out of Katsuki's hands. He moved to his futon and when his friend finally quieted down, he asked,

"Hey Kacchan, do you have a pencil?"

"Huh?" Katsuki tilted his head, confused at the sudden question. "Uhh, yeah, on my desk. Why?"

"'Cause I wanna erase your past and write our future together."

"..."

"What? Not funny?"

"_Shut up._"

Izuku giggled and the blonde promptly turned off the lights so that the color on his cheeks would remain hidden. He then got in bed and pulled the covers over himself.

It was late, their heavy conversation having taken up the better half of the night. Even though it was near morning, both boys laid awake in their respective beddings, thinking through everything that was said today and the days previous.

It was a lot to think about.

They always had tomorrow though.

**...Good? I realize this chapter was a bit of a whiplash with all the different emotions and that's why I divided this ch. from the last cuz I felt like that would help a bit (?) Idk. But yeah, this is a chapter that I've been wanting to write since the beginning of the story. I really wanted to portray the feelings of guilt Bakugou held and write a good apology scene. I hope I've achieved that in this chapter, and if not I can always rewrite with a few pointers from u guys. Thank you sm for reading and stayed tuned, there's still quite a bit of this story left!**


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